TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
--Genesis 1:26

There is one large question that looms over the creation story: Why? Why did God create the material world, and create us in His own image? He had to make a decision to spend six days creating all of this, so what was His reasoning?
I think that first and foremost, God created us for His pleasure. It pleases Him to have a relationship with us. It’s not that God was lonely. He has hosts of angels worshiping Him. And He is self-sufficient, so we don’t give Him anything He lacks. But God delights in having a relationship with us.
I also believe that God made everything for His praise. The Bible states in many different passages that all of creation praises Him. Every man, woman, and creature praises God either here on earth or eventually in His presence at the gates of heaven.
Besides His pleasure and His praise, God also made us for a specific purpose. The Bible says in Romans 8:28-29 that we were created and redeemed so that we might be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
I want you to keep this in mind today as you go about the activities of the day. Remember that the God of the universe desired so much to have a relationship with you that He created you to be like His own Son! Thank God today that you are known and loved by Him.

YOU WERE CREATED FOR THE PLEASURE AND PRAISE OF GOD, AND TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE.