WE ARE CREATED WITH EMOTIONS
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness."-Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)
There's a common misconception that it is wrong to have emotions or to be emotional. This simply is not true. In fact, God is an emotional being. The Old Testament reveals that He feels grief (Genesis 6:6), jealousy (Exodus 20:5), and even anger (Ezekiel 5:13). In the New Testament, we see Jesus expressing the emotions of grief (John 11:35) and anger (John 2:15). We also find that the Holy Spirit is equally capable of being touched by these emotions (Ephesians 4:30). What would God's Word look like apart from emotions? We would be missing most of the Psalms and the entire book of Lamentations. God places value on emotions, and He has created us with the capacity to feel them.
The Scripture above tells us that God first formed man in His image and likeness. The image is the outward appearance, and the likeness is the inward essence. Likeness speaks of the internal capacity of God to know and express different emotions. By being made in God's likeness, we reflect His capacity to have emotions. Unique from all other works of creation, only mankind can relate to God on the higher human emotional level. A mighty mountain doesn't know what it is to lose an only son, and an ocean cannot understand what it means to fall in love. While animals come close, their elementary joy, shame, and other emotional-like reactions are not nearly as complex as ours, and many of their emotions can be easily attributed to instinct.
Emotions have an important place in God's plan for our lives, but we need to know their proper place. They aren't bad in and of themselves because they help us relate to and understand God. But they can become bad for us if we allow them to control and consume us. Instead, we must be led by the Holy Spirit:
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:25-26 NKJV)
If our emotions aren't submitted and surrendered to the Spirit, they will soon lead us outside of the Lord's will and into sinful territory. We have been created like Him. We must also behave like Him by staying in step with His Spirit.
Discuss, Dig, Decide
Discuss what it means to be made in God’s image and likeness. What evidence of this truth do you see in your own life?
Dig into Genesis 1:26 and Galatians 5:25–26. What do these verses reveal to you about God’s design and desire for you as His child? What responsibility do you feel because of His indwelling presence?
Decide with your group to stay in step with His Spirit. Spend time in prayer as a group, and ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit.
