Sabbath Meditation #2 – The Image of God
by Kelly McDonald, Jr.
“So God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:27).
“2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made” (Gen. 2:2-3, KJV).
Humans were made in the image of God. In other words, God left an imprint of Himself in us. This important truth has an interesting relationship to the Sabbath. After God made mankind, He rested on the Sabbath. This makes humans inseparably connected to this special day. Since we are made in His image, every human is made with the innate need to rest on the seventh day.
It also means that the physical, emotional, mental, and societal problems prevalent among humanity can be linked in some degree to a lack of Sabbath observance. As aforementioned, our Creator endowed us with traits similar to Himself. The need for the Sabbath rest is a special part of God placed within us. We need it as part of a fully functioning life.
On His special day, we have the opportunity to make a unique, special connection to Him that is not available at any other time during the week. No creature God made can connect to Him in the same way that we can – we are made in His image. The desire to connect to Him in this way calls out from within the deepest parts of our being. Sabbath observance aids us in our journey to reflect His image on earth.
Consider the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. One of the reasons that this time period will be so abundant and successful is because every human alive will have a collective consciousness of the true Sabbath. In other words, humanity will have the collective effort of the image of God working in total harmony and unity to properly represent that image. This will enable the entire world to experience the full force of a six-day work week followed by the full effect and influence of the seventh-day rest. This is a synergy that will generate more productivity and more rest than man’s ways ever hoped to accomplish.
The Sabbath completed creation. We are not complete without it.
Selah.
Kelly McDonald, Jr
BSA President
The Sabbath Sentinel 