Image

I'm the tallest, biggest girl in my dance class. Everyone must be laughing when I dance. No, you're a great dancer. God created you and that's what makes you special. Do you ever worry about the way that you look? My name is Zach and this is Keys for Kids.

Maybe you're shorter or taller than you would like to be. Maybe you don't like your hair color or your knobby knees. But remember this, you're created in God's image and that's very special. No other creature reflects God the way you do.

Genesis 1.27 says, So God created humans in his own image. He created them to be like himself. Our story for today is entitled Image. Lena held her position as she landed a pirouette, the final move in the dance.

She pushed her belly button as far back to her spine as she could, gazing at herself in the mirror. Her eyes then followed down the line of girls. She stood ahead taller than any of them, and though she tried, she couldn't get her

stomach in far enough. "'Nice job,' said Miss Susan, the instructor at her dance school, when class ended. Lena shook her head, disagreeing with her teacher. Miss Susan raised her eyebrows.

What's wrong? You nailed that turn. Lena's eyes followed the other dancers as they filed out of the studio. She waited until the room had emptied to speak.

I'm the biggest person here and I'm not even the oldest. I feel so weird, like everyone must be pointing at that big girl and laughing whenever I dance. Lena studied her reflection some more.

Lena, you're a beautiful dancer, said Miss Susan. Don't let anyone speak lies and tell you any different. Besides, I wouldn't want all my dancers to look the same. Lena didn't answer, but she stopped staring at herself in the mirror to look at Miss Susan.

Do you know humans are the only ones created in God's image? Miss Susan asked. No animals or even the angels reflect God the way we do. And when God finished creating everything, He saw it was good.

Imagine God patting Himself on the back and saying, Wow, look at Laina! I did good! God thought He had done good by creating me, Laina asked. She tried to picture God forming Adam out of the dust.

When He made Adam, did He know He'd make me one day too? Susan nodded. Yes, he did. And he loves you, Lena, so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for you so you could be saved from sin. And he gave you a wonderful body that can do amazing things like think and talk and do pirouettes. Lena smiled as she picked

up her dance bag. God created her. He loved her and sent his son to die for her. She'd She'd heard the words before, but she had never let them sink in until now. So how about you? Do you ever find yourself staring in the mirror worrying about how you look?

Remember that God made all the people in His own image, including you. He made each one of us unique and loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. Instead of comparing yourself to others, remember that you're created in God's image and loved by Him and that makes you special.

Our key verse is Genesis 1.27. So God created humans in His own image. He created them to be like Himself. And our key thought for today?

You are made in God's image. I want to encourage you to spend time with God every day. When you grow up to be a teenager, you can keep it up with the Unlocked Teen Devotional. It's like Keys for Kids with something to read every day, but it might be a story, a

poem, or maybe even a journal entry made by a team just like you. Get a free printed copy of Unlocked at Unlocked.org. I'm Zach. This is Keys for Kids.