Best. Costume. Ever.

This evening my wife and I will join the throng of children across our country knocking on doors dressed as all sorts of creatures. We have a 9-month-old little girl who cannot speak audible words. Instead, we will awkwardly speak for her saying, “Trick or treat?” to our neighbors.  As a child, Emily dressed as an elderly lady, a missionary, and a mime.  I was known to resemble a Ninja turtle, Captain Hook, and a funny clown (which would not go over so well these days!).  But this is our first Halloween we’ll spend delighting in our own child… who will be dressed like a little kangaroo.

I was recently studying the idea of being created in the likeness of God.  It occurred to me how much pride I take in having a daughter who looks so much like me (as we say in the South, “Bless her heart.”)  We know from Genesis 1:27 we are made “in the image of God” but what should that mean for our lives as human beings?  A few things come to mind during this season full of bearing the “image” of so many characters:

God takes great pleasure in seeing creatures who look like Him.

This really is the essence of “glorifying God”.  The little kid dressed like Spiderman is cute because he resembles the superhero, but obviously isn’t him.  The way I will swell with pride when my neighbors tell me how cute my little kangaroo is and how she “looks just like her daddy” reminds us how God delights in our reflection of Him.

We don’t reflect Him like we were intended to

You don’t have to open one page of the Bible to know that this world is not working the way it ought to.  We are all broken, smudged mirrors who dimly reflect the glory we were once purposed for.

Because we are made to look after a glorious God, we, along with the rest of humanity, have immense dignity.

Our dignity is a derivative of the worth of an infinitely priceless God.  And not just us personally, but the guy you just cursed out in traffic.  Or the person who is voting for the other presidential candidate you “just can’t stand”.  James 3:9 says, “With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.”  This means that we are to love ourselves, and the rest of fallen humanity, because we are all made in the image of God.  His worth is what defines the worth of humanity.

So as you see the parade of costumes this year I hope it is a reminder that we all wear a costume.  We all uniquely resemble a God who is worthy of praise.  He delights in his creatures who are “the apple of his eye.”  He delights in us so much that the author of the story just couldn’t stand to see us make a mess of our costumes.  Jesus is God writing himself into the story to make things right.  God comes to trade us his perfect “costume” or righteousness in exchange for our tattered rags.

If you have not made that trade with God I urge you to do so.  If you have made the trade, wear your costume with pride this year.  He delights to see his children having so much fun “going as Him” in all they do.