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Safe Haven For Teens
Safe Haven for Teens is a organization that focuses at this time on providing teens with a safe place to hang before school, where they get a free breakfast and a place to talk. In the summer we will be moving into providing a afternoon place for the teens to hang where they can do art, skate board, music and hang out.
Created
in 
God’s Image
The idea of being created in the image of God is essential to the concept of the Christian faith in how we view our own personhood and the world around us. The Scripture reference is found in Genesis 1:26,27, “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.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (NIV). The issues I would like to address are (1) what it means for us as humans compared to other animals to be created in God’s image and (2) what our mandate is as God’s stewards.
One area of controversy seems to be in the understanding of the word “us,” as found in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image.” The confusion seems to be in the area of seeing God as a plural entity, especially in light of Scripture that demonstrate that there is only one God. This can be found in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-3: “I am the Lord your God…you should have no other gods before me…you shall not make for yourself any idols in the form of anything….” The meaning of the Scriptures using the word “us,” is it is the plural form of the word fullness or Elohim. The name Elohim reveals God as the absolute excellent One, and it also refers to the doctrine of the Trinity. The importance of this is the concept that man is the only creature with a body, soul, and spirit. The difference between man and animals is that though animals have wonderful and beautiful bodies, intelligence, and also feelings, we as humans are the only ones who have minds that can think and know themselves. We are the only ones who have a sense of right and wrong or a conscience. The other difference is that we have a god-like or spiritual nature, which is very different from other species.
The other important concept of human beings created in God’s image is the idea that we are the crowns of His creation, who reflect God’s glory. We are called to be in harmony with the cosmos, and as His image bearers, we can know God and be in a constant relationship with Him and respond to His Word. Only in knowing and believing that we have a special place in God’s kingdom and that we are created for a specific purpose and function that only humans can fulfill can we walk in our primary function. The primary function that we as humans were created for is to worship and serve the Creator in every aspect of life. The concept of worship does not just mean worship in the traditional sense but there are many different ways that we are called to worship God.
One way for us to worship God is found in Genesis 1: to have dominion or subdue over the animals. The image that is commonly mistaken by the terms dominion and subdue is one demonstrating power or authority in a cruel manner. However, the definition of the word dominion found throughout Scripture is the relationship between humankind and the earth and its creatures in the relationship of a king ruling or leading his people. The emphasis is on gentleness and on demonstrating active caring that results in a state of peace. It is only because we have been created in God’s image that we are capable of being faithful stewards of God’s kingdom. This should not be thought of as some overwhelming responsibility but rather as an exciting privilege of being partners with God. He created us with the abilities to faithfully be His caretakers of an awesome kingdom that He took such great care to create. As William Berry says, “God made the world because He wanted it made. He thinks the world is good, and He loves it. It is His world; He has never relinquished title of it. And He has never revoked the conditions, bearing on His gift to us of the use of it, which oblige us to take excellent care of it. If God loves the world, then how might any person of faith be excused for not loving it or justified in destroying it?”
The other means of demonstrating worship to God is by using our abilities to be co-creators with God. The simple fact that humans are created in the image of God gives everybody the ability to be a “maker” or “creator” to some degree or another. It is so important for us as part of God’s creation to understand that part of our makeup is our ability to create. God has placed in each one of us the ability to be creative in some form or another, whether it is in the area of arts or even in science. We are all creators of some sort; this call to create does not just belong to the artistically inclined. As maintained by Madeleine L’Engle, “What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint or clay or words, creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation or how we earn our living.”
One other area of worship that seems to be the area of struggle with us humans and one that I tend to wrestle with more than anything else is the view of our personhood. The truth is that if we are created in God’s image and given special privileges and responsibilities, then we must be of some importance. However, because of the fall, the area that many tend to struggle with is seeing ourselves actually worthy of being God’s stewards and image-bearers. Returning again to the book of Genesis, we note that after each day of creation, God ended the day calling His creation “good.” However, after God created male and female, he said something different, and it is something that is very easily missed: “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Another way to interpret “it was very good” is “it could not have been better.” Jewish author Arthur Green explains this well,
Human dignity by virtue of the godliness within us is the gift and birthright of each person. God indeed has had an image, that of every living human being. Your task is that of making God’s image, but you do so with every fiber of your being, through every moment of your life. Nothing less is worthy of being called God’s image. If one human is said not to bear God’s image, then in the end none of us will. Fear leads to hatred, hatred leads to superiority, superiority leads to despicable deeds, despicable deeds lead to corruption, and corruption leads to the destruction of God’s image, in both the victim and the perpetrator. God alone is holy, and each human being is charged with becoming holy, by realizing the values of oneness, and harmony with all being in the way he or she lives.
I believe that this should be a challenge to all of us to begin to learn each day what we are in light of who we were created to be, not so much in the way the world has formed our identity by events present and past. The exciting thing that we have to hold on to is that regardless of what we have done or what has been done to us, there is no way that it can ever change the reality of who we really are in Christ if we simply choose to believe. I am not saying that this will be an easy state of mind to attain to, but it is one that we are challenged to wrestle with each and every day.
Resources Used
For the beauty of the Earth, Steven Boume-Prediger
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, Madeleine L’Engle
Tikkun, “To Live as God’s Image, Arthur Green