1 Corinthians 15:45-49 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
On the sixth day, as the universe stood complete, God paused. One final creation remained—a masterpiece unlike any other. This being would bear His own image, a living reflection of the Divine (Genesis 1:26-27).
The Hebrew word for “image,” tzelem, is profoundly connected to tzel, meaning “shadow.” God fashioned Adam to be His shadow on earth—a living, breathing reflection of His glory and nature. From the first Adam to you and me, we are not just flesh and blood; we are living reflections of the Almighty, cast upon this earth to reveal the unseen God.
God reached down, gathered adama (earth), and molded it into a vessel. Then, He breathed His Spirit into that lifeless clay, and Adam became a living soul—a blend of dust and blood, adama and dam. And in this divine act, a profound truth was revealed: when the blood (dam) ceases to flow, life departs, and we return to the dust (adama) from which we were formed.
Centuries later, the Second Adam, Yeshua, entered the world—the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15-17). Just as the first Adam was formed from earth and infused with divine breath, Yeshua was born of human blood yet carried the very breath of God Himself. And just as Adam was called to reflect the Creator, we are called to reflect the Messiah—to walk as His shadow, bearing the imprint of His life, love, and light.
Never forget: You are His divine shadow—a living, breathing reflection of the Almighty. Let His light blaze through you, that those around you may behold the One who shaped you from dust and ignited your soul with His very breath.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There is an old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit who lived together in a little house in the woods. They shared all the work and lived in harmony. The chicken found the firewood, the mouse brought the water from a nearby brook, and the rabbit cooked the meals. Each did his work faithfully and contentedly.
In the most extreme moment of his life, when his entire household was threatened with annihilation, the Patriarch Jacob wrestled with a Man through an entire sleepless night. Somehow, after this astounding encounter, Jacob came to the realization that he had been wrestling with God, and face to face! Once again, the Lord God of heaven showed Himself as a human being to a man He loved; this time, for the purpose of rescuing, blessing, and preserving the man’s destiny.
As we continue our study of the men who followed David, let’s look at their boldness — the boldness of lions! We also need this boldness in the face of the enemy who is “like a lion”, himself….a roaring lion.
As we continue our study of the Mighty Men of David, another quality is worth pointing out — they were not procrastinators. Notice that these men decided to cross the Jordan river when it was at flood stage! They didn’t wait till the river receded, but rather, boldly crossed when it was the most dangerous!
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A program by National Geographic gives a powerful illustration for us. In the great annual wildebeest migration in Serengeti National Park in Africa a giant herd, thousands of wildebeest, slowly move in groups across the plain. They are invariably followed by stalking lions. But the lions never attack the herd – they simply watch carefully for the stray wildebeest, either careless or seeking greener grass, who separates himself from the larger groups of animals. The isolated wildebeest will become the sudden prey of the lions who attack with lightening speed and ferocity.
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