The creation of human beings gets an extended focus in the Genesis account.
Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Genesis 1:26-31
Man and woman were part of God's good creation. They were made by Him for unique relationship and interaction with Him. The phrase "image of God" means that there are things true of God that are also true of us. While obviously not gods ourselves, we reflect certain characteristics of God's nature.
From this passage, we learn one characteristic we share with God is that we are made for cooperative participation with God in His work. God blesses people and tells them to have children and to fill the earth. He also tells them to subdue the earth which means ruling over it and taking care of it. We see an example of this in Genesis 2, when Adam (who was created before Eve) is commanded to care for creation and to name the animals God has made. Could God have done all of this better Himself? Of course. But God invited the man to bring forth all the latent possibilities in creation and to direct them in God-honoring ways, as an extension of His authority on earth. Our work was to reflect His—six days He worked, so six days we work; He rested on the seventh day, so we are to rest on the seventh day. He is the Creator and He creates us to be creators. Our stewardship of creation was to mirror His care in creating it.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet... Psalm 8:3-6
Another major attribute we share with God is personhood. God has will, intelligence, and emotion—and so do we. The most central facet of personhood is the capacity and desire for relationship. God's personhood (the Trinity, which we talked about on Day 1 this week and we'll cover in more detail later) is made up of three co-equal, co-eternal, co-existing persons whom the Bible refers to as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, God has always existed as a community within Himself. And out of the overflow of that loving and joyous community, God creates human beings in His image—made for relationship with Himself and with others.
God didn't create us because He was lonely or bored. He didn't create us because He needed our help. He is fully complete without us, yet desires relationship with us.
It is striking that there is only one thing in the whole creation account that is considered "not good." The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Genesis 2:18). This quote refers to the fact that Adam was created before Eve and for a period had no other person to relate to. God judged that the alone-ness of man was not good. Though surrounded by the animal kingdom and having direct access to God, the man needed another human being to be his companion. So God created a woman, and the pair were given charge over the rest of the created world to care for it and stand as His representatives over it.
Think about this. The same God who created the universe knows each of us intimately and completely. He cares for us and loves us. He delights over us (Psalm 139:13-19) and desires a relationship with us. He creates an incredible world to live in and then gives us the job to care for it. He takes the initiative to reveal Himself and then leaves it to us to respond to His loving care. When we stop to really consider that, our lives can't ever be the same.