Made in God's Image - What does that mean?

Feelings - where did they come from?
 

• We have feelings as responses that God has wired in our minds.
• We are made in His image.
• He has the same feelings - and has exhibited several throughout the recorded history we have of his dealings with folks.  I am sure there were innumerable situations we don't know about.
• In this life, we seem to focus a lot on OUR feelings about things.  We praise God when we are happy - we plead with Him when we feel despair, we enjoy Him when we are moved to praise, we are angry with Him when life seems unfair,  we feel guilt around Him when we fail, on and on.
• We desire  to have a relationship with Him - and are encouraged to view Him as our Father - which is a very intimate relationship model.
• A relationship is give and take - 2 sided - both receiving needed benefits.
• God has feelings that don't seem to be considered much in the 'gimme' world of Christianity.  Even if we are asking Him to "gimme" something noble and right - we still are always asking.

When we look at those in the Bible who have been considered close to God - those He especially loved - what is a common denominator? I wonder if they were always looking at their side of things?  Even in the 'please help me be a servant of yours" type prayers - we are still asking, asking, asking.  Do you think God gets lonely? Do you think when he said "I am searching to and fro upon the Earth for a heart that is perfect toward me so I can bless it" that he meant he has trouble finding a heart like that?  What kind of heart is perfect toward Him?

It is very easy to say we love someone.  We love our spouse, our  parents - or relatives.  But I see a difference in saying I love someone and that I really like them. Lots of folks don't like their husbands or wives. Many people don't like their parents.   If you like someone - you enjoy having them around.  You want to spend time with them. You truly receive joy at seeing them happy.  I think a lot of folks say (and mean) they love God.  But do they LIKE him?  Could they talk, as Moses did - as a friend and give God counsel?  Could they barter with him, as Abraham did?  Are there any of us alive today that God cares what we think about something?

What do you think GOD really wants from us?  Does he want little robots of perfect obedience and sacrificial love that go around doing good and saying prayers and thinking about Heaven - or could he maybe want friends?  Folks who sit around and contemplate just WHO he is - what does he want - what can we do for Him - JUST for Him that doesn't involve our receiving some blessing or new jewel in our crown or a mansion on the better side of those heavenly tracks in return?

I think an important answer would come from that first relationship - the one He created for himself.  He made Adam - and put him in a perfect world.  Adam could not ask for anything - because everything he could even conceive was provided.  Those walks he took with God were not filled with "gimmies."  What do you think they talked about? 

These are the beginnings of thoughts I've been coming toward for several years and I wanted to know what y'all thought.

Alice/2006