The Key to Your Story

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).

The car I drive has been in our family for quite a few years.

That means that the key that came with the car has also been in the family for a few years. The car has proven to be quite reliable. It shows no signs of quitting on us, and as long as that’s true we won’t quit on it. My key, however, has not done as well.

Several months ago the key that came with the car succumbed to wear and tear. It was one of those keys with remote control type buttons that unlock the doors and open the trunk. Along the way I had replaced the small battery a time or two. But after a while the entire plastic casing gave way.

I’m aware that such things can be replaced, but my easiest response to the problem was to simply use the valet key. True, the valet key has no remote functions, no buttons to open and lock doors or pop open the trunk. But that, as my wife would say, is a ‘first-world problem.’ The valet key starts the car and manually unlocks the door. What more does one need?

There is one minor inconvenience that caught me off guard. The valet key will not open the trunk. This quickly made sense to me once I reminded myself that the valet key is not really meant for regular use by the car’s owner. It is, obviously, for the valet.

My point in all of this has to do with design. What slight variation in design allows one key to do two functions while another key only does one? Clearly, a valet key is designed with a very specific purpose in mind. And I’ve been making use of it in a way that really isn’t in keeping with its purpose.

In God’s work of creation the human being was designed in a particular way and for a particular purpose. Simply put, you were made in the image of God. You were designed to live in fellowship with God.

The phrase ‘image of God’ encompasses much that is unique about us – our capacity for self-reflective thought and intimate relationships. We won’t linger long here with a definition. But what we must not miss is the design that is crafted deep within every human heart. We were made for God.

Psalm 16:4 says that ‘the sorrows of those who run after another god will multiply.’ Why is that? Because you were not designed to find satisfaction in any other god.

The deep peace and joy and rest that the human soul craves will not be found apart from the God who created us. And when we insist that it will be, when we run after those other sources of satisfaction in this life, our disappointments stack up. Our sorrows increase. Such a life may work for a while. It is functional – but it has its limitations. It is a way of life that isn’t consistent with the way were designed.

You were made for God. You are on this earth to reflect who God is and show God to the world around you.

This is who God made you to be. This is the key to your story. How will you live this out today?

Prayer:
Gracious God, you have made us to know you and to live our days walking closely with you so that others may see who you are. We confess that we chase our satisfaction in so many dead-end ways. Remind us today of who we are and help us to live in keeping with your design, we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.