“Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us…’ So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26a-27 NLT)
In light of the wickedness in our world across the centuries, but especially in our own day, it seems incredible to believe that all humanity – each individual human being – has been and is an image bearer of Almighty God. Caesar Kalinowski wrote: “You have never looked into the face of another person that is not an image bearer of God. NOT ONE!”
What do you believe constitutes being an image bearer of the living God? Do you have to believe a certain way? Live in a certain place or ascribe to a certain list of rules? Perhaps belong to a certain religion or wear a particular style of clothes? What is it exactly that qualifies any person, past or present, to be considered an image bearer of God?
The key ingredient of human beings that separate them from every other species is the fact we have a soul. What does that mean? What difference does that make?
The soul is a gift that enables us to have eternal life, like God, but it also gives us the gift of will, which allows us to choose for ourselves. We have appetites (for good or ill), emotions, and passions. Humans can think, reason, plan, scheme, and devise activities that will honor God or not. It’s ironic on a lot of levels that the Lord entrusted to us the very gift He selected for Human beings alone, that resulted in us being expelled from the Garden.
It’s also ironic to me that that single gift, the gift of choice, is the only means whereby we can find our way back to Him. The will to choose between right and wrong – on a moment-by-moment basis – is what draws us ever more closely to the Lord or allows us to drift from Him. And here’s the kicker – each of us is as close to God as we choose to be.
Another irony is, a person can look like a saint and still think, act, and live like Satan. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 11:14: “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” It’s disappointing and can be very discouraging to have someone pretend to be a Jesus follower, but only for personal gain. But despite all of that, EVERY person still bears the indelible image of God and deserves to be treated with respect, not because they are necessarily worthy of that respect, but because we honor the one who gave them life.
There have been and are leaders of our world today, religious, political, economic, and otherwise, who have had and have agendas for the world that are for anything BUT God, yet the Lord still gives them the same opportunity that He gives us – to choose Him, through the power of His Son. And here are the two most mind-boggling features of this privilege of being an image bearer that are literally beyond my ability to understand!
First, had we been in Eve and Adam’s places in the Garden, we would have made the same choice as they made. And worse, secondly, had we been in Jesus’ place in the wilderness when He was being tempted by the devil, when the devil showed us all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to us in place of our soul, we’d have said: “Stop right there devil, that looks good to me. Where do I sign? I’m all yours!”
Yet, Jesus STILL offers us salvation! Incredible, but true! “Thank you, Lord, for loving us and walking with us in spite of all you know about us.”
It’s an incredible privilege to be an image bearer of the most high God! Let’s live like it! And recognize His image in other human beings, even when we don’t think they deserve it. News flash: NONE OF US DO!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 