阅读经文 

在太初时已经有了好消息。这个好消息是我们在创世记一章创世的记载中看到的，它告诉我们，有一位神创造并且护理着万有，而我们人类是照着这位奇妙的神的形像被造的。

当然，我们并非外形像神，因为神是个灵，但神的形像还包含很多意思，其中一个意思就是，我们是神的代表。神吩咐我们要治理祂所造的一切——不单是这几节经文中提到的活物，更包含日后人类历史一切复杂的进程。

真是不可思议！区区凡人，竟然获得尊贵和荣耀代表无限的神，并且照神的目的治理祂充满潜力的受造世界。我们是神的代理人，我们拥有被赋予最高声望的职务。这些都能带给我们极大的归属感和使命感，我们为此喜乐感恩。

对每一个人来说，这当然是好消息——特别是对那些归属感和使命感受到削弱，或那些因贫穷或其他原因妨碍他们参与正常生活，以致他们不能拥有快乐丰盛生活的人们。给贫穷的人的好消息，是从提醒他们具有神的形像开始的。

Good news begins right at the beginning. The good news found at the beginning of things in Genesis 1 is that there is a God who makes and upholds all that there is, and that we humans are made in the image of this amazing God.

We don’t look like God, of course, for God is Spirit—but this means, among other things, that we are God’s representatives. We are called to take care of all that God has made—and not just the creatures mentioned in these ­verses, but also the unfolding of all human history that follows, in all its complexity.

Amazing! Mere mortals are endowed with the dignity and honor of representing the infinite God, acting on God’s behalf to care for his creation with all its potential. We are God’s agents with a most prestigious job description. And this leads us, with joy and gratitude, to a profound sense of identity and calling.

This is good news for everyone, of course—but perhaps especially for people whose sense of identity and purpose are diminished, whose ability to live joyfully and fully are held back because of poverty or anything else that hinders their participation in life. Good news for the poor begins with a reminder that they bear God’s image.