Several particular phrases jump out at me when I read the creation narrative in scripture now. 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” - source

Let us make man in our image…

In the most fundamental way, God made us like Himself.  He made us creative beings who long to create.  He made us creative spirits who long to sing, to dance, to play and partake in life in it’s fullness.  He even went so far as to allow us to reproduce and create sons and daughters who are in our image, our likeness.

…let them rule…

As sometimes happens in scripture, there are certain phrases that have supplemental phrases that they rely on.  This is the case here.  If we take, “let them rule” out of context of “Let us make man in our image…” then we have only a partial understanding of the scripture.  In the very nature of who God is, He is a ruler.  The Ruler.  In both the meanings.  Ruler as “one who is in charge” and Ruler as in “the standard by which things are measured”.  Likewise we also are given this same opportunity to rule, to measure and be measured by.  The fact that God here says “let them rule” means that their is an expectation of us to be like God in one other way. 

A Suitable Name

Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.

It’s interesting that God shares His creative abilities with His creation.  God knits us together in the womb, but gives us the privilege and joy of sex.  He creates all the animals, then asks man to name them.  He creates the Heavens and we name the constellations.  It’s echoed throughout scripture that God shares this creative element with us. 

Why?

When you name something, it signifies a power over or an intimacy with it.  Many powerful people down through the years have followed this.  I am not sure if it is intentional or not, but it happens.  Check out this list of nicknames used by American President George W. Bush.  This is hardly an uncommon occurrence though.  We name our pets, we use “terms of endearment” or “pet names” for our spouses.

Intimacy or Power?

While this creative power can be used to gain power and advantage over others, it also can be used for an amount of intimacy between people.  If you look at comic books and comic characters down through the years, all great super-heros had that choice to use their powers for good or evil and all great super-villains had a choice to do something good too.  What makes one evil or good is the choices we make with that power. 

A great portrait artist can compose a drawing that captures the beauty of the person inside as well as just their facial features.  While each of those two characteristics can be shown individually, it is when they are shown together that they complete each other and the work reaches it’s finest level.

The image we represent.

In marriage, the wife usually takes the husbands name because of this as well.  The two have become one.  Sure, they are separate people, but the name means they are one family, have one home, and their children are known by that name.

As creations, we are marred images of our creator.  In many ways it’s like taking an oil painting while it is still wet and dousing it in turpentine.  You end up with a blurred mess of color that can never be exactly what it was brushstroke for brushstroke.  The inspiration has been wasted, twisted and cruelly destroyed.  But regardless of what is currently on a canvas, a canvas can never be truly wasted unless the canvas itself is destroyed.  While without Jesus, that is our ultimate peril, it is through Jesus that new life can come to the painting that we are.

This is why you hear Christians pray “In Jesus Name…” though I am not sure if many of them even have a clue what they are saying half the time.  A painter often paints his signature on his painting.  A way of saying “This is mine.  I authenticate it.  I was here.  I did this.“.  But with Christians, so much of the time, it’s said half-heartedly like “Sincerely” at the bottom of a template letter.  We just sign the name under it and it looks good but has little to do with the content of our lives.

It’s not supposed to be that way.  Re-read that first commandment way back in Exodus, chapter 20, verse 7

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

So when we live outside of the image that God has for us, we misuse God’s name.  God closely identifies Himself with His people.  When Moses went to the people of Israel, Moses is told to tell them that “I Am” has sent me to you.  “The God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob”.  Remember it is Moses who is speaking….”I AM”  What an interesting concept to consider, that even before Jesus God was with His people on a very intimate level.  Christ brought that full circle in us living as a man, dying for our sin, and conquering death.   We call ourselves “Christians” and we pray in the name of Jesus because it is through that name, through that image that we have our inheritance.  Through His name we are granted that same intimacy with all of His creation.  Through the name of Jesus we have eternal life.