July 4 Daily Devotional

Monthly Theme:

By God’s Word and Spirit the world was made, and he uses the same tools to rebuild the creaking cosmos. God does not save some souls from the wreckage of the planet; instead, the whole groaning creation must be delivered from bondage by the love and power of God.

Bible Reading:

Genesis 1:26–31

Bible Text:

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

Devotional:

Today's text reveals the climax of God's creative work. In this verse the word create is used three times. When God finished creating, he placed this whole wonderful creation under the feet of creatures who would take care of it on behalf of God. And he made these human beings according to his plan, after his own pattern, and for his purpose.

God created human beings according to a plan formulated in the council of the Triune Mystery. For God says, "Let us make man..." (v. 26).

God created them according his pattern—"in his own image." That means we have been created to reflect our God. People are in a very special sense God's own property. This is what we mean by human dignity. Our dignity is not rooted in the fact that we are rational and animals aren't or that we have a sense of humor and other creatures don't. Human beings must be respected as human beings because they have been created in God's image and likeness.

Finally, God made us for his purpose: to take care of God's creation. Human beings are God's governors over creation. We live under God's care, and the rest of creation is under our care.

We were created to be kings and queens under God. And under God we recover our freedom and nobility.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.