Are you happy? In the United States, happiness has hit a record low. According to a 2023 Gallup poll, only about 50% of American adults are satisfied with their personal life. Worldwide in 2022, one in four people experienced sadness, and 40% said they experienced a lot of worry or stress. Humankind was created to be happy, and for some time, we were. We are wired to imagine how things could be better. Unfortunately, the root cause of much unhappiness is that we now live in a fallen world.
Humanity was created. We are not an evolved species. We are something new that differs from the animals in both degree and in kind. The term created repeated three times here significantly negates modern evolutionary theories regarding the descent of humankind. It emphatically proclaims human creation as the crowning glory of God’s creative work.
The human soul especially bears the Maker’s image. God wanted the human creature to be different from all that had been made before. Spirit and flesh, heaven and earth, would come together in his moral image. In the beginning, humans were without error in their understanding, or disorder in their appetites and passions. Their senses served as inlets to enjoyment and wisdom, but with all their abilities submitted to glorifying God, as well as completing their own happiness! The human soul conformed its will immediately and completely to the will of God, with extraordinary clarity in its discernment and judgment. Attitudes and actions readily sprung from embracing that which is good. Thus, our first parents stayed holy and happy with the image of their Creator upon them.
God first made the male out of the dust of the earth and infused him with a soul. Then, he made a female out of one of the male’s ribs. The female was presented to the male as his wife so that their species might be propagated. God formed woman from man, causing all of humankind to descend from this one pair. His desire was that all nations, being of one blood, might consider themselves brethren. And with this knowledge, they might love and help one another to the best of their ability.
God breathed life into humanity’s nostrils to signify his close and intimate relationship with them. Clearly, our Maker desires human company and conversation partners. The creation of woman begins with God’s recognition of the human need for companionship. Human beings are not meant to be alone. They need one another.
Later, we see that God is indeed very happy with his creation, which culminates in his relationship with us humans. But humankind did not remain in this blissful state. Unfortunately, the essence of their Divine likeness was shattered by their transgression of God’s revealed will for them.
Thankfully, the image of God may be restored to our souls, allowing us to achieve a level of happiness despite our broken and corrupted world. Only through our relationship with Christ Jesus, the brightest expression of God’s essence, will our nature be transformed back into the image of our Maker. We all would do well to diligently seek and earnestly pray for this most precious of all attainments. May God, by his grace, renew his image upon our souls.
Becoming Biblical 