Does God Seem Far Away?Sample

MADE IN HIS IMAGE First, God created the heavens and the earth. After that, He created man in His own image (Gen. 1:27). He made man because He wanted another being whom He could fellowship with on an equal plane. He formed Adam out of the dust and then He breathed His very life into him. Imagine that. There was Adam—a being as pure and holy as God Himself, with God’s life in him. He had all the same attributes as God did. And God had someone He could share His heart and His power with. As beautiful as nature is on planet Earth, it was not made in His image the way we are. God considers us His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10 NLT), and we need to see ourselves that way too. He made all that for us. It was always God’s idea to be close to us. Fellowship and closeness with us was His greatest dream. He gave mankind dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26), not because He needed the help, but because He was placing mankind on His level. He is a God who rules and reigns, and He gave us that kind of authority. It’s something God and mankind have in common. Because fellowship happens more readily between people who have things in common, especially shared responsibilities. For example, policemen fellowship with other policemen, because they understand each other in a way that non-cops don’t. They “get it.” God wanted someone who “gets it” in fellowship with Him. I have friends who are nurses, and when they get together, I’m sort of left out of the loop. They tell stories of emergency surgeries and difficult patients and miracle medical procedures that I can’t enter into. They “get it” when it comes to the medical field, and that gives them a bond that I can’t share. We all love each other, but their fellowship has an added element that brings them closer. It’s like that with God. He made us to fellowship with, so He originally gave us the same power, dominion, and authority in the earth that He had so we would have that in common with Him. He wanted a family of sons and daughters who would grow and share His dominion with Him and love Him because they understood. That’s what creating the earth was all about.