Man is different from ‘other’ created things, in that man is made in the image of God and other things are not.  God gifted man with personality and spirit.  Thus man’s unique position among all things created.  Being created in the image of God is a unique and wonderful/glorious position and status in the order of all things created.  Being stamped in this image has purposed and demonstrated intention and desire on God’s part.  It is ‘so that’ man can know and be known by his creator. It is purposed for ‘relationship’.  And in this elevated status among all things created, man has a reasonable responsibility to live in harmony with the other creatures and wonders of God’s creation.  Even though man is created in the image of God and other things are not, yet nevertheless he is as much a creature as the other things.  They and he are equally created.  At this level, they are equal, on the level of creaturehood.  It follows, therefore, that though we are separated from other created things by our God given ‘endowment’ (the image of God endowment – personality/spirit –for purpose and intention to know and be known) nevertheless we are fellow creatures in a common world because God made it that way. 

(As a side note:  Because we are fellow creatures, we are to treat the tree, the animal, and the air properly.  This is the Christian basis for ecologic responsibility.) 

It is important and vital for us to say that the reason the Bible says that God created us was ‘so that’ we could become His children, become a part of His eternal family and eternal plan.  And ‘that’ objective, that goal, is the purpose and reason for why God created us in His image.  ‘So that’ we can come to know Him and have an eternal relationship with Him.  And the way to become a child of God, the way to be adopted into God’s eternal family only comes through the person of Jesus Christ.   We will talk about this most important piece tomorrow.  😊 

Thoughts developed and/or taken from the works of Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, Trilogy – He Is There and He Is Not Silent