Many people I know say the place they see God the best is out in the ocean. “When I paddle out, I can feel his power in the waves. I can see his beauty in the clouds and the sky.” Other people find God at the tops of mountains. “When I hike up Olomana, I’m awestruck by his majesty.”

True, you can see the beauty of God in the ocean and the majesty of God in the mountains. But it’s still not a very good picture. Why? Because none of those things was created in the image of God. Only us:

God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)

The only thing in the universe that was created in the image of God are people. So do you want to know the best place you can go to see God? The Bus.

Go hop on Bus #1. I used to ride it a lot. It goes from Kalihi, through Chinatown, to Bishop Street, to Makiki, through Kaimuki, up through Aina Haina, all the way to Hawaii Kai. And in each of those places, you see a different slice of humanity getting on and off. Every 10 minutes, you’re riding with an entirely different crowd. Every different background, ethnicity, social class, age, style. Anything you can think of, you’ll see it on the #1 bus. And more than anywhere else in the universe, that’s where you’ll see God, because each of those people was created in the image of God. Just like you.

You could go Interstellar, and take a trip through a black hole to some stars and planets on the other side of the universe, and you still wouldn’t see anything equal to what you’ll see in a single human being. Because you were made in the image of God, which means you’re going to exist forever.

You’re eternal. The rest of the universe isn’t. Oceans get polluted. Mountains erode. Even stars burn out eventually. But you won’t. Your soul will be around forever. You’re completely unique in the universe.

Now, it’s true that genetically speaking, you’re 98% the same as a chimpanzee. You and your cat are 90% the same. 82% of you is the same as your dog, and even 60% of you is the same as a fruit fly. You were formed out of the same material: dust.

The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. (Genesis 2:7)

God formed you using the same basic building blocks as every other living thing in this world. But you weren’t just formed out of dust. Genesis also says you were given the breath of God. That’s something that was never given to any other animal. Only humans. You’re a reflection of God, like nothing else in the universe. Unique in all of creation.

Psalm 139 says you were knit together by God in your mother’s womb. I love that word, knit. Because if you’ve ever watched someone knit, you’ve seen how long it takes, and how each thing you knit is going to be a little different. God took his time to patiently knit you together as a completely unique person, totally one-of-a-kind.

When was the last time you bought something that was one-of-a-kind? I buy everything at Costco. It all comes off a pile of 1,000 items that look exactly like the thing I just bought. And then when I stop by Starbucks and order a tall Flat White, their goal is to make it taste exactly the same as the one I ordered last week. We live in a mass-produced world, but you were created as a completely original piece of work, with infinite worth and value because you have God’s image implanted in you.

Which really means, the best picture we have of God … is you.

How are you reflecting God’s image this week?