The scripture passage “and God created the human in his image” illustrates the love of God towards humanity. The human beings are elevated to the realms of glory by the virtue that they are created in the image of God. The origin of humanity from the biblical context “in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (English Standard Bible, Gen. 1.26), exemplifies the function of the scripture as an exemplary tool that provides information and knowledge to humankind. According to Dahlsgaard, Peterson, and Seligman, the purpose of God creating man and woman was to separate them into two sexes, male and female (209). Therefore, the different gender formation communicates God’s objective of providing a defined role and purpose of his creation.
The rules of the creation as told in the book of Genesis idealize the guidelines governing the unity between man and woman when God blesses them to live together. When He blessed the man and woman he indicated that, “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (English Standard Bible, Gen. 1. 28). In addition, the scripture says, “and God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was good” (English Standard Bible, Gen. 1.27). In both verses, the scripture provides a roadmap for the purpose and the process of marriage and the continuation of the process of creation through the creation of man and woman. The rules of the creation are also prominent today with the advents of various socialization. The liberal approaches to marriage have altered the rule of marriage, leading to same-sex unions and other sexual orientations such as lesbian, bisexual, and gay societies. However, the biblical context of creation provides a roadmap for the union between man and woman.
In addition, the broader purpose of the passages presented above illustrates the power and the glory of God as the creators of man. It implies that man and woman should conform to God’s purpose of creation as demonstrated in the book of Genesis. Dahlsgaard, Peterson, and Seligman assert that all human beings irrespective of their religious affiliations have the responsibility of acknowledging their existence as a creation of God, which takes the design of His own image and likeness (208). Therefore, irrespective of the societal makeup on the beliefs and practices based on the aspects of faith for believers and non-believers, the creative role of God applies to all humanity.
As it is evident from the message on those verses, the scripture is relevant to all people since it provides a definitive story on the origin of man. The scripture similarly, lays a substantive observation on the original expectations of the creator in uniting a male and a female into the institution of marriage for the continuity of creation through family life. Understanding the story and the design of creation helps in shaping out the objectives of human beings. Therefore, the expectations of the creators should form the major deliverable of a man during his active life on earth. Consequently, scripture does not fall short of explaining the story and design of creations but accordingly expands on the importance of man, who is created in the image and likeness of God. Man remains an elevated being after other creations, and has a role of acknowledging his creator during his lifetime.
Works Cited
Dahlsgaard, Katherine, Christopher Peterson, and Martin EP Seligman. “Shared Virtue: The Convergence of Valued Human Strengths Across Culture and History.” Review of General Psychology, vol. 9, no. 3, 2005, pp. 203-213.
The English Standard Version Bible. Oxford University Press, 2009.