Every Person Is God's Image
Month 1: In the Beginning — Knowing God · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: Genesis 1:27 & James 3:9
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. — Genesis 1:27
9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. — James 3:9
Memory Verse
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”— Genesis 1:1 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Genesis 19–21
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Day 6 of 365 — God keeps His promise; Isaac is born.)The Heart of It
Two days ago we learned that you are made in God's image. Today comes the next step. It changes how we treat everyone. Every single person is made in God's image too. The tall and the small. The kind and the unkind. People who look like us, and people who don't. The new kid. The grumpy neighbor. The brother who took your toy. Each one carries the fingerprints of the Maker. James points to a problem we all know too well. "With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God" (). The same mouth can't honor God and tear down the people He made.
This is where loving God turns into loving people. If we really believe , we can't split the world into "people who matter" and "people who don't." God doesn't. Every person you'll meet today is a walking masterpiece of the Creator. That's why we use kind words. We share. We include the ones left out. We refuse to mock. Not because everyone has earned it, but because God made them. And to honor the Maker, we honor what He made. Loving others well always starts by seeing them the way God does.
Around the Table
God made every person — even people who look different from us. So we are kind to everybody!
Let's do it: Name three people who are different from you, and say one kind thing about each.
James says it's wrong to praise God and then put down a person He made. When is it hardest for you to be kind?
Let's talk: How can you treat someone this week the way one of God's image-bearers deserves to be treated?
Every person bears God's image. That is the root of true human dignity, across every race, age, and ability. How does this truth answer bullying, prejudice, or looking down on others?
Let's go deeper: Is there someone you've been quick to judge? How would seeing them as God's image-bearer change how you act toward them?
💬 Conversation Starter
Who is someone at school, church, or in our neighborhood that often gets left out? How could we treat them like the image-bearer God made them to be?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Why do all people deserve to be treated with dignity? Not because a government says so. It's because every human is made in God's image (). That truth is not just an opinion. It's the firmest foundation there is for human rights.
For Dad · Go Deeper
The image of God is the great equalizer. It's the cure for every kind of contempt your children will be tempted toward, and that you battle yourself. It gives dignity to the unborn, the disabled, the elderly, the outsider, and the difficult relative. But watch how it lands at home first. The way you speak about a frustrating coworker, a political opponent, or a slow driver teaches your kids whether you really believe what you're teaching. Sarcasm and contempt quietly say "that person is less." Model the harder, better way. Honor people you disagree with, because the Maker stamped His image on them too. Loving the hard-to-love is where being a disciple gets real.
Draws on: Tony Evans, Kingdom Man.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that You made every person in Your image. Help us see people the way You see them. Help us use kind words and kind hands with everyone we meet today. In Jesus' name, amen."
Every person I meet today is a masterpiece God made. So I'll treat them that way.