【双语灵修】好消息的开始 The Beginning Of Good News
“神就照着自己的形像造人，… 神就赐福给他们，又对他们说：‘要生养众多，遍满地面，治理这地 …。’” - 创 1:27-28
在太初时已经有了好消息。这个好消息是我们在创世记1章创世的记载中看到的，它告诉我们，有一位神创造并且护理着万有，而我们人类是照着这位奇妙的神的形像被造的。
当然，我们并非外形像神，因为神是个灵-但神的形像还包含很多意思，其中一个意思就是，我们是神的代表。神吩咐我们要治理衪所造的一切 - 不单是这几节经文中提到的活物，更包含日后人类历史一切复杂的进程。
真是不可思议！区区凡人，竟然获得尊贵和荣耀代表无限的神，并且照神的目的治理祂充满潜力的受造世界。我们是神的代理人，我们拥有被赋予最高声望的职务。这些都能带给我们极大的归属感和使命感，我们为此喜乐感恩。
对每一个人来说，这当然是好消息 - 特别是对那些归属感和使命感受到削弱，或那些因贫穷或其他原因妨碍他们参与正常生活、以致他们不能拥有快乐丰盛生活的人们。给贫穷的人的好消息，是从提醒他们具有神的形像开始的。
祷告
神啊，你照你的形像造我们，又赐我们生命活在你创造的世界中，我们感谢你。求你帮助我们，在我们遇到的每一个人身上，都看到你的形像。阿们。
创世记 1:26-30
26神说：“我们要照着我们的形象，按着我们的样式造人，使他们管理海里的鱼、空中的鸟、地上的牲畜和全地，并地上所爬的一切昆虫。”
27神就照着自己的形象造人，乃是照着他的形象，造男造女。
28神就赐福给他们，又对他们说：“要生养众多，遍满地面，治理这地，也要管理海里的鱼、空中的鸟和地上各样行动的活物。”
29神说：“看哪，我将遍地上一切结种子的菜蔬和一切树上所结有核的果子，全赐给你们做食物。
30至于地上的走兽和空中的飞鸟，并各样爬在地上有生命的物，我将青草赐给它们做食物。”事就这样成了。
The Beginning Of Good News
"God created mankind in his own image. . . . God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. . . ." - Genesis 1:27
Good news begins right at the beginning. The good news found at the beginning of things in Genesis 1 is that there is a God who makes and upholds all that there is, and that we humans are made in the image of this amazing God.
We don’t look like God, of course, for God is Spirit—but this means, among other things, that we are God’s representatives. We are called to take care of all that God has made—and not just the creatures mentioned in these verses, but also the unfolding of all human history that follows, in all its complexity.
Amazing! Mere mortals are endowed with the dignity and honor of representing the infinite God, acting on God’s behalf to care for his creation with all its potential. We are God’s agents with a most prestigious job description. And this leads us, with joy and gratitude, to a profound sense of identity and calling.
This is good news for everyone, of course—but perhaps especially for people whose sense of identity and purpose are diminished, whose ability to live joyfully and fully are held back because of poverty or anything else that hinders their participation in life. Good news for the poor begins with a reminder that they bear God’s image.
Prayer
Thank you, God, for creating us in your image and giving us life in your world. Help us to see your image in everyone we meet. Amen.