“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)

[using the New City Catechism app…]

Question 4: How and why did God create us?

Answer: God created us male and female in his own image to glorify him.

Related to this week’s question, our kids today are bombarded with wrong ideas on two fronts… First, evolutionary theory attempts to discredit the existence of God and the fact that the world was created by Him and for His glory.  Second, they are increasingly told that there really is no difference between male and female (in fact, contrary to being designed, gender is fluid and up each person).

Hopefully you can have some directed discussions this week that expand on these truths…

• God lovingly made humans different from the rest of creation, to rule over His creation, and to show His likeness to the world by glorifying him with their lives.
• Sadly, many people today don’t believe in God and therefore don’t believe that human beings were created, but rather developed or evolved accidentally over a long period of time.
• The Bible disagrees with this belief and declares that humans were made by God, the Creator of all things, not because He was lonely or needed help, but because He is loving and relational. God didn’t need people, but decided to create and use people as part of His plan for His world.
• So humans were not just accidents that happened to evolve, but were the pinnacle of God’s creation—the only thing made in His image and assigned to be His representatives on earth.
• He also intentionally made two different genders— male and female – and created them equal but different.

Questions to ask…

• What is the difference between growing up thinking that you’re alive because of a random accident on earth, and knowing that you were created by a loving and good God? Would this knowledge make a difference in how you view your worth, value and purpose in life.
• What are some differences between human beings and the rest of creation?
• What do you think it means to be made in God’s image?
• How would you explain to a friend who thinks we are here by accident that you believe God created human beings, and that we have a purpose in His plan for His world?

In essence, to glorify God is to acknowledge Him as the loving, all-powerful, and perfect Creator, and then to live lives of praise to Him, show the watching world what He is like.  God created out of love, and to be His image bearers in the world we should be loving too.