Day 2 – Genesis 1:26-27

²⁶ 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.” ²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ^[1]

From where do families come? Such a question is not one of biology, but of origin. What is the origin of family? It is a relevant question given all the challenges to family today. Even many so-called Christians are beginning to accommodate the ungodly views of the greater society effectively thumbing their noses at the plans and intentions of God as it relates to family. God is the originator of family. He created it from the very beginning when He decided to make humanity in His own image and after His likeness. Some would argue that our definition of family is too narrow and that the Biblical description was far broader than that which we in the west describe as the nuclear family. Such an objection is true, but it still does not support the various configurations of family they espouse.

The key to understanding God’s design is in His Word. We were created in the image of God as males and females. That design was intentional and functional. One only has to read the next verse to discover their intended function: “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (28). In the event that this description is not clear enough for some the writer of Genesis gets more specific in the next chapter when he describes the presentation of Eve to Adam (2:23-24).

How have we gotten so far away from God’s original design? How have we so perverted what He so clearly intended? The obvious answer is sin, but more than that it arises from a desire to be like other people when God decreed that we were to be different. It matters little whether we are referencing churches approval of same sex unions or challenges from our children to the established godly standards in the home; the root cause is the same. It stems from a desire to be like everyone else. Perhaps the greatest reason for the difficulty we experience with families that are supposed to be godly is that we have lost our original purpose. May we today return to our roots.

Dear Father, many of our families are in shambles. They are an embarrassment to you because they look nothing like what You have intended. We are guilty of embracing the ways of a godless world so as to blend in and be accepted. Our marriages, children, and society as a whole are suffering. We are so messed up in some places we wonder whether there is any hope. Forgive us for our willingness to go along in order to get along. Help us today to introspectively look at our families and begin making the changes, beginning with each one of us individually, that will restore our families to Your purposes and plans and bring You glory and praise. Amen.