Clones

by: Joe Talhelm

If you could be cloned after some other person who would it be? Arnold Shwartzenager, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Jordan, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Mother Theresa, Einstein, Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill, Roosevelt? All just meager men and women.

In the book of Genesis we find "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created he them." God made us in his likeness - physically, spiritually, and mentally. When God creates things - He creates them perfectly! To be created in His own image means we are created in His: appearance, reflection, and semblance. Man was just like God was in the beginning (not God, but just like Him).

Man was perfect in all ways, there was no sicknesses, no impurities, no blemishes - just perfect. Their thoughts were perfect, their actions saw no wrong, their intentions were always right and they made no mistakes and had no problems. There were no zits, no bad hair days, nothing out of place, perfect teeth, perfect figures.

Made in the image of God and given the special gift of choice. Clones of God living in bliss and having all the blessings of God. How long did this bliss last? Remember, now, man was given the gift of choice and this gift proved to be a major problem. It was like giving $1000 to a kid and sending him into a candy store. Real freedom was more than they could handle and their sin of disobedience (ignoring God's only commandment) led them into another world - one without being the image of God. No longer were they like God. No longer did they have the same relationship with God. Now there was a barrier - a wall between them & God. The created was different from the Creator. The image of man had been marred. And for thousands of years after that, man inhabited the earth needing something or someone to get back to God. Man was now an alien to the day of their creation. Man needed another chance to be more like his Creator.

Jesus says in John 12:26: "If any man serve me, let him follow after me and where I am there shall my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my Father honor."

Jesus came on the scene thousands of years later to become the standard by which man could gauge himself by.

He became the Man/God for man to again connect with his God. He became like man (cloned himself - if you will) to bring man back to the image they once were - in the beginning.

Through Jesus Christ, man can be cleansed of the sin that separates us from God. Through Jesus Christ, mankind can become more like God again. Through the cleansing of the blood and the purifying of the Spirit man can become clones again to be used for His glory - (not Gods, but clones of His Son, Jesus Christ). To be a clone of Christ we will: 1. Bring glory to our heavenly Father (Christ's favorite word was 'Father'); 2. Love our neighbor as our self; 3. Love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind; 4. We will pray; 5. We will be obedient until death; 6. We will be Spirit-filled; 7. We will always point towards our Father; 8. We will decrease while Jesus increases; and 9. Our will, will become His will and His will becomes our will.

Are you a clone of Jesus?