“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”So God created human beings in his own image.

In the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)
I love to read the creation story over and over again. Every time I study it I learn something new. It truly amazes me how much God has to say to us thru each passage. We really will never run out of lessons to absorb. 
One day as I was reading about the creation of mankind, I started to understand how special each person really is. God could have created anything and He chose to create the human race. He chose to create people, beings that He could interact with. People who’s lives He could be a part of, He created a family. 
As I studied, it dawned on me that God loves each and every person on this Earth. He desires for every single person to choose to have a relationship with Him. I realized that every single life is precious to Him. Not one life is more important than the other. At that moment it hit me how precious the people are around me. It dawned on me that when I spoke to others in anyway that was not full of love, I was disrespecting what God created. Something personal to Him, something that was close to His heart. 
Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
As I studied I learned how important it is to watch my speech. There are many scriptures about how careful we need to be with what we say. The tongue is called a fire and a knife in scripture. We can easily help people feel amazing about theirselves or we can send them into a very dark place. As I meditate on this it becomes very clear how great a responsibility we have been given by just being blessed with the ability to speak. 
Matthew 12:26 says “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,”
There are some scriptures that really have hit me hard. This is one such scripture. As a young adult I was careless with my tongue. I have used my words to hurt more people than I care to imagine. As I read this scripture I actually hit my knees. I was overcome by the guilt of the past sin in my life. The realization of how hurtful I had been to the very creation of God. The creation He loves, that He actually created in His image. 
Each person is precious, each one has a purpose on Earth. Each person has the ability to glorify. Each person can be a light. Each person can be an inspiration to others. I realized by tearing people down I damaged their spirit. All by myself armed with only my mouth did I stop them at least for a while from being all they could be to the people around them. 
I again was thankful for the gift of forgiveness. The guilt was to much to bear. But God looked past my poor choices and my hate. He lifted me up and restored me. He renewed my mind and gave me a new sense of purpose. 
Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” 
Matthew 5:14

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”
I am to be an encouragement. We are to be an encouragement. I am to be a light. We are to be a light. We carry around the very Spirit of God within us. Everything that we do, everything we say, every encounter with the world around us should reflect this. Every single life on this planet is special and precious and we must treat people so that they believe this truth. After all we are commanded to love one another. 
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” 
Have you ever realized that you can not command an emotion? You can not command someone to be happy or sad. You can however command an action. By doing something that reflects love people feel love, by doing something that reflects hate other people feel hate. So our command in this scripture must require an action. We are commanded to love and we do this by our actions. Loving words fulfill this command as do loving actions. 

Father, I have failed so many times in treating your creation the way You would have me treat them. I have failed to love others so many times. I have become angry and aggravated with people more times than I could ever begin to count. In response to this I have let my words flow. They were not the words you would have chosen for me to use. I am so very sorry for my actions. I ask for your forgiveness. I am humbled by your love for me. I am thankful that You look past my actions daily and forgive me over and over again. Even when I try and fail over and over. Time after time Your grace is new and I can embrace a brand new day to try again. Your love is unfailing. I thank You for Your Son who took on my sins. Who created a way for me to approach you in prayer and ask for forgiveness. I know You walk with me and I face nothing alone. Please remind me of your love for others daily. Please lead me in showing Your love through my words and actions. Please show me how to be a light for You in this world. A light so bright, so encouraging to others that there is no question that the light is You in my life and Your love shining through me. 
Amen