Genesis 1:26-28 is a kind of thesis statement for the entire rest of the Bible’s story. You can’t fully understand the gospel’s bigger story if you miss what Genesis 1:26-28 means. This is God’s blueprint for humanity and the whole world. Everything else in the Bible is the unfolding of these 3 verses. And when you understand it that way, it becomes a powerful script for your life right now. 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV And we all, who … contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Genesis 1:26–28 NIV Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; maleand female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” James 3:9-10 NIV With the tongue … we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. …My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Galatians 5:22–23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. C.S. Lewis (“The Problem of Pain,” chp 10)… He talks about God creating each of us with his signature written upon our soul— “This signature on each soul may be a product of heredity and environment, but that only means that heredity and environment are among the instruments whereby God creates a soul. I am considering not how, but why, He makes each soul unique. If He had no use for all these differences, I do not see why He should have created more souls than one. Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you. …For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you. …All that you are, sins apart, is destined, if you will let God have His good way, to utter satisfaction.” Then Lewis cites Jesus’ promise to his people Revelation 2:17— “To those who are victorious, …I will also give each of them a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Lewis continues… “Why else were individuals created, but that God, loving all infinitely, should love each differently?” Who can you share this podcast with? If you found this episode helpful, consider sharing it on social media or texting it to a friend you think might benefit from it. Follow Dave Cover on Twitter https://twitter.com/davecover (@davecover) Follow A Bigger Life on Twitter https://twitter.com/abiggerlifepod (@ABiggerLifePod) This podcast is a ministry of https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (The Crossing), a church in Columbia, Missouri, a college town where the flagship campus of the University of Missouri is located.