Yesterday officially kicked off the Orange Conference. While the Orange strategy is a simple concept, combining the influence of parents and church leaders to make a difference in the lives of children, the insight and application is profound.In the opening session Reggie Joiner pointed the 7000 church leaders to learn from Genesis 1:26-27,
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
I have read this passage dozens of times and have so easily skipped over the fact that God created man in His own image. Think about this for a second: We are made in the image of God. The kids in my ministry are made in the image of God. The parents of my church are made in the image of God. The artists, the doctors, the burger flipper, everyone, is made in the image of God.
God created us in His image and for this reason we are creative. This is easy to see in the artist who creates a masterpiece but it can also be found in the doctor who uses creativity to make us stronger or healthier and the burger flipper who mixes spices and even the temperature of the grill to create mouth watering flavors.
Reggie reminded us that as we look at our kids, we MUST not forget that they are created in the image of God. The 3 year olds who can memorize the 10,000 words in frozen, the 10 year old app developer, and Malala Yousafzai the 17 year old Nobel Peace Prize Winner were all made in the image of God.
Our job is to embrace, engage, affirm, and mobilize this next generation. What would or what could happen if you began treating every child like they were made in the image of God?