Who Am I?

The three great philosophical questions are: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” and “Where am I going?” The Bible has the answers.

Genesis 1:27, “God created man in his own image,” answers the first question. We are created by God. We are not here by happenstance nor have we arrived through chance evolutionary processes. Each of us is here because God created us. God made us from nothing and we are here by his express desire.

Because God created us we have a purpose in life. Because we are created we have responsibility and accountability. It is to God that we will answer for the things we have or have not done in this life. Creation implies we neither have ultimate control over the course and destiny of our lives nor do we have the inherent right to do as we please. Evolutionists and humanists attempt to make an end run around these implications by either denying creation or by insisting that man is autonomous.

Genesis 1:27 also teaches we are created in the image of God. What does that mean? Does it mean that we look like God? No, that would make God a hermaphrodite—half man and half woman. Not only that, but God explicitly states that he is not a man (Numbers 23:19). In what way, then, are we made in the image of God?

The image of God consists of the moral and intellectual nature of man. God is spirit (John 4:24) and the essence of man is spirit. Man is a spirit clothed in a body of flesh, bones, and blood.

Man differs from animals in that man is a moral being. Animals, while possessing various degrees of intelligence, are not moral creatures. Animals perform by instinct. Man's performance is based on rational thought coupled with the workings of his conscience.

When God created us he put into us the knowledge of his law. We know that it is wrong to murder, to steal, to commit adultery. These things we do not have to be told. Animals, on the other hand, mate according to instinct. Some are monogamous, others are not. Some exist by stealing because that is the way God made them. Predatory animals kill other animals instinctively and without remorse.

It is the image of God in man that makes the sin of murder so heinous. There is no sin in killing an animal provided the animal is not wasted or killed for greed. To kill a human being, however, is to destroy the image of God.

As we realize we are image bearers of the Creator and honor that image we will find peace and satisfaction that will carry us through the difficulties of life and provide comfort for our souls.