Against those who place little value on human life and dignity, we assert the fundamental truth that all human beings are made in God's image and are worthy of respect and protection. But against those who assign humanity an almost godlike status, we remind ourselves that our freedom is limited and that or personhood is ultimately God's gift to us.

Men were made in God's image. The Hebrew words for image (tselem) and likeness (demuth) both refer to the practice of Ancient Near Eastern kings building or carving out images of themselves in order to represent their power and authority over their far-flung empires, even if they were not physically present. These images represented the absolute dominion of the ruler over the areas he controlled.

In the same way, human beings were created to reflect central features about the nature of God. We represent Him to some degree. Men and women are not gods themselves, but they reflect something of His nature.

Notice too that God placed his glory in the image of the man and woman together. Both are needed to fully reflect what God is like. This is often overlooked. The Bible seems to begin with absolute unity and equality while still allowing for differences and distinction.

By examining the opening pages of Genesis, we begin to get an idea of what it means to be masculine. We see expressions of community, sexuality, work and vocation, and spirituality, all within the first two chapters.

But the main point of this chapter is that all other images of masculinity will fail us. None of us will be sufficient to carry the weight of life in this world as a man and as a disciple of Jesus unless we start here first. God begins by saying that masculinity (and feminity, but that is a different book) is part of God's good creation.

Excerpt from Why Guys Need God, available on ConversantLife.com Books.