“God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him” (Gen 1:27).
This simple sentence is of unfathomable depth, for it answers man’s search for his true identity and is at the same time an eternal declaration of God’s love for us human beings.
What better inheritance could the Father give us from birth than to imprint Himself in our souls and mould us in His own image and likeness?
When man undertakes the search for God, according to the longing which He Himself has planted in his heart, he will not only find Him in the Holy Scriptures, in the wonders of Creation, in His works throughout history and in the light of the doctrine which He has entrusted to His Church; but he will also discover his Father within himself, for He dwells in a soul that is in the state of grace.
Everything that man discovers that is good in other people or in himself comes from God and, if we know how to understand it, becomes a proclamation of His Presence, for “no one is good but God alone” (Lk 18:19).
The person who has opened himself to God’s grace can now cooperate so that the image of God is formed in him. In this way, his true dignity and beauty come to the fore. And then Jesus’ exhortation becomes a reality: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).