In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no vegetation of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground, but a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (New Revised Standard Version)

The word “Genesis” comes from the Septuagint, an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, and means “origin.” The first book of the Bible does indeed have to do with origins. And in the early chapters, Genesis addresses the origins of the earth and all it’s life and systems, including humans.

Genesis 1 is a poetic account of those origins. Genesis 2-3 provide a complementary narrative account of creation and the beginning of the world. These three chapters together affirm the inherent goodness of all creation, as well as how complex it all truly is.

God is the Creator of the earth and humanity. The original man, Adam, is a name transliterated from the Hebrew adamah, which means ‘ground’ or ‘dirt/dust.’ This relationship between Adam and the literal dirt of the planet is the basis for humanity’s special relationship with the land and taking good care of it as a proper steward of the earth. In the beginning, working the actual ground was set up as a blessing.

We are living creatures, having been given breath (Hebrew nephesh). Along with all the living breathing animals on this earth, we share a basic creaturehood and are thus connected with each other. In addition, only people are formed in God’s likeness and enjoy a special relationship with the Lord in being God’s image-bearers. (Genesis 1:27)

God created you and me as good. The Lord has made provision for us to glorify God, and to be successful in doing the Lord’s will. People who are ineffective in living out their spiritual lives are persons who do not know the truth about themselves. 

Both truth and error are powerful. If people are misguided about who they are, then they become like empty wells with no water to draw from. Many of our problems, failures, and shortcomings are largely due to a misunderstanding of our basic personhood. 

A profound result of this misunderstanding is a lack of self-worth. Whenever we are in error about who we really are, we have automatically limited ourselves to what we can do in our lives. Comparing ourselves to others is not helpful; nor is trying to simply gin-up good feelings about ourselves. 

Only by accepting who we truly and really are, can we actually be helped, and discover human fulfillment in this life. Let us consider that it is vitally important what the Holy Scriptures say about us; and also equally significant to respond in faith to the recognition of our great worth on this earth.

An important bedrock truth we must understand is that people been created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:16-17). We can only begin to understand ourselves if we begin with creation. Since God is a Person of infinite perfection and goodness, to be created in God’s image means we are persons of great potential and value.

To be a person means that we are self-conscious and can make decisions. We also have inherent rights to know, to be heard, to feel, to have an opinion, to be honored, to develop potential, to assume responsibility, and to enjoy life and all creation. In other words, God treats us as persons; therefore, we may not treat ourselves any less than that.

People were created to know God, to understand spiritual truth, and to perform spiritual functions. 

Because we are created by God, we are sacred individuals. We commit a profound shortcoming when we do not develop our potential and live as though life and fulfillment were graciously given by God for our good. 

Accepting erroneous thoughts about ourselves (and we all have) leads us to misinterpret our circumstances, relationships and opportunities. Without even realizing it, we bring confusion and failure into many, if not all, areas of our life.

One of the clearest evidences that we may not know, accept, and practice the biblical truth of our self-worth, is seen in our response to Holy Scripture. Too often we observe altruistic people and say, “I can’t be like that!” Or we read scriptural promises and commands and say, “I can’t do that!” Living with that kind of unbelief and error in our lives results in discouragement and/or criticism of others who seem to be successful in their spiritual lives.

Here is the truth about you:

You are loved by God (John 15:9; 17:23). This means that God recognizes us as persons, gives us our rightful place in the divine life, and will do right by us. God has our back. Therefore, let us accept this truth.

You are called to live in fellowship with God (1 Corinthians 1:9). No greater honor could be bestowed on us than the invitation to interact with the Living God. As we do, the door is open, so that God can minister to us and lead us into the knowledge and practice of the divine will.

You have been given divine revelation (Hebrews 1:1-3). Having the Bible available to us (in our own language!) is one of the greatest possessions we could ever receive. There is nothing more powerful than the truth about God and divine desires for our daily life. Therefore, let us pay attention to divine revelation and obey it, since God has so graciously given it to us.

You are the object of divine redemption (Romans 5:8-9). The great evidence of our human worth is the reality that Jesus Christ has secured our redemption from guilt, shame to himself. Jesus, the Son of God, loved us and gave himself for us. (Galatians 2:20)

You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The actual physical temple of the Old Testament was filled with the glory of God. Today, through Christ’s redeeming love on the cross, every believer in Jesus is God’s temple. Therefore, God wants to work in us and through us for the Lord’s glory and honor.

The conclusion to the matter is that the way to know our true self-worth is to accept what Holy Scripture says about us; and then respond by faith and love to its loving and redeeming message. 

According to the book of Genesis, you are no accident. You are a person of infinite worth to God. So live into this wonderful truth.

Soli Deo Gloria