In His Image: For His Glory
October 16, 2021
Lesson 5 in a 5 week series
Driving down the street, my car loaded full of groceries from my Walmart pick-up order, I see her as I round the corner. The same woman I see sitting there each time I shop. Her face red from the sun, a cup in her hand, and a cardboard sign propped on her shins, “please help.” My heart generally doesn’t stir when I pass her - shrugging off her situation, I look right through her. Living in downtown Chicago for years hardened my heart to the needs of the needy. Traveling by foot, I would pass a beggar or two on each block. “Don’t make eye contact.. keep walking..” I would wisely advise any out of-town guest traveling alongside me.
Today, as I saw the woman on the corner beside Walmart, something shifted inside me. Aside from the gospel, there is not another theological concept that has changed the outworking of my faith quite as drastically as the Imago Dei. I wonder.. if my heart had truly grasped this concept sooner (because you know, heart-knowledge is way more impactful than mere head-knowledge alone), how much more different and dignified my interactions with people would have been over the years.
Each person we see, needs to be viewed through the lens of Jesus, not through the eyes of our fallen humanity. That “punk kid” who is a bully to your child: made in the image of God. That “deadbeat dad” who uses mortgage money on alcohol: made in the image of God. That “crooked politician” who is pushing forward an agenda you disapprove of: made in the image of God. That “unplanned and unwanted fetus” growing in your womb: made in the image of God. We, as the creation, have no say on the value of other created being. The Creator is the one allowed to make that judgement call.
We have become so attuned within our culture to justify our feelings about a person by how they look like us (or don’t), whether they agree with us (or don’t), whether they have worldly value (or don’t). It has become the norm to disregard a person because you don’t find them compatible with your worldview. If my main source of connection with others is based off of whether they agree with me on any given topic, I have made an idol out of my opinion. We forget that every human has value and dignity because of who they are created in the image of. The billionaire in Silicone Valley is equally as worthy as the society-labeled “bum” begging for money on the street corner.
Jesus, God with flesh on, is our perfect example of how to live and love. We see Jesus spending valuable time, energy, and power on the lost sheep, the unclean, and the outcasts. He knows their value because He is their creator and He longs to see them restored back to Himself. Why do we think our role should be anything different?
It’s no coincidence that God’s first recorded words about man is that they are his image bearers. That is first because it’s the foundation that the rest of the story is built upon. The summation of the law and the prophets is to love God and love people. That wouldn’t have been Jesus’ greatest commandment for us if people weren’t worthy to be loved. He wouldn’t have laid His life down freely if you weren’t worth that ultimate sacrifice. We were created out of an overflow of God’s love to bring him glory. He died to reconcile us back to himself- once again, out of love and for his glory. This is why we must display his love to others and share with them the hope of the Gospel.
The father of lies is after us because he doesn’t want us to know of our value as image-bearers. He is jealous and hates that we bear God’s image. Consider his deception in the world right now. The rise in depression from people of all ages. The hopelessness that comes with believing you are not important. He doesn’t want us to see our own value and he doesn’t want us to apply the principle to others either.
What if we all looked at each other the way that Jesus looks at us. How would that change our environments? If we truly want to turn the world upside down, it’s imperative that we have a vibrant understanding of who exactly Jesus is, what exactly He came to do, and why He thought it so important to do so. If Jesus came so all who believe may be saved through Him, what right do we have to discredit someone’s worth because of our opinion of them? Please hear me say that this does not mean we are to accept people’s sin. We still have the obligation to judge the actions of another rightly through a Biblical lens and to share with them the hope of reconciliation through repentance, but we do not have the right to diminish another’s intrinsic worth.
Even though we are all created in the image of God, and therefore intrinsically valuable, there is no doubt that Scripture says we are all gone astray and born into sin. Therefore, we are all separated from the holy God. Our acceptance of Christ’s payment on our behalf is what purchases our justification. He truly is our Savior. He never would have paid the highest price if He didn’t believe that you hold value.
Through Christ we are reconciled back to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says that we are given the ministry of reconciliation which means that we are his ambassadors to the world. We should be reflecting his love and his character. I’m not sure that the church in North America is doing a very good job of that. Ask yourself the hard questions: am I living like an image-bearer? Am I being a faithful ambassador of Christ to those around me?
I commonly hear people use the terms “children of God” and “image-bearers” interchangeably, so while we are on the topic, I’d love to explain why these two things are actually different!
We have already looked at what it means to be an image-bearer of God. (If you missed the article that spells out the term, you can find that here). But what does it mean to be a “child of God?” Of course, in our understanding, a child is born from her parents. Following this logic, many think that, as God is our creator, we are all his children.
However, Scripture makes a distinction that God’s children are only those who are born again, not the lost. John 1:12 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” In fact, Scripture goes as far as to say that we are born into sin, and therefore children of wrath by nature (Ephesians 2:3).
When you accept Jesus, you are adopted into his family and therefore you become his child (Galatians 4:5-6). Through adoption, our old debts are wiped out. We become children of the Father who cares for our needs. Romans 8 tells us that, not only are we adopted as children, we are heirs of the Father. Our job is to carry on his legacy and represent him to a broken world. We become co-heris with Christ who purchased our status. We are led by the Spirit who is our helper and counselor. God created you with talents, and, if you are a believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit has given you gifts to use for His glory. To bring light to a world that is shrouded in darkness.
Walk in your calling friend. Believe who you are: a valuable image-bearer, and an heir of God. Live like it’s true!
