When the Image Gets Blurry
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them. – Genesis 1:27, NLT
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. – Romans 8:29, NIV (emphasis added)
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV (emphasis added)
“Everything else in creation reflects God’s glory in a general sense, but humanity alone is described as being created in God’s image. Our correspondence to God is on a different level. We glorify God in a unique and more direct way. We image him, which is not informative; it is breathtaking. No wonder the description of the actual moment of creation is set out in poetic form. This is artistry.” -Sam Allberry, pg. 65, What God Has to Say About Our Bodies.
An acorn is not an oak tree but, it is from an oak tree. A broken acorn is also not an oak tree but, it is also easily identified as being from the oak tree. In that sense, an acorn images an oak. It is of the oak. So too, humanity is to image the Creator and in a unique way. We are to shine the glory of God to the watching world. Moreover, in Christ, we have the potential to do this even as ‘broken’ image bearers. The reality is that our culture is making it harder to discern what the image of God should look like in humanity. Human beings have been warping and twisting the image all through the ages. So much so, that when God’s Son appeared, in the flesh, imaging Him without flaw, the world didn’t recognize him or accept him. (see John 1:10-11,14,18) The glory of God was hidden in plain sight, in part because humanity’s image bearing was so far off the mark. And so, one of the challenges you face if you seek to live out the Imageo Dei is in finding the unbroken, unwrapped image of God in Jesus such that you can imitate Him. This is why we must seek to know the Gospels and clearly understand Jesus as He is there.
Another, equally or in some cases greater challenge to imaging God lies in our brokenness. Our humanity is broken in the way we think but, often our very bodies are broken in profound ways. Whether it be chronic pain, anaphylactic allergies, or something as simple as sore muscles, our bodies have their fair share of malfunctions. In these difficulties, it is challenging to find ourselves imaging God. More often than not, they can leave us petitioning and/or questioning God. And while neither of those is wrong (we are to ask, seek, knock and God doesn’t mind our questions), there is a higher redemptive purpose in those struggles. God is forming us into the image of His Son. And in suffering, He can form us in ways we cannot be formed without suffering. It is like bending or shaping steel. You can do little with it when it is room temperature. But, bring some serious heat to bear on it and, you can shape and bend it fairly easily. Suffering is the heat God often uses to shape us so we conform to the image of His Son. Additionally, suffering in our image bearing bodies points us to the higher redemptive end which God has in store for His children. We are not yet what we will one day be. Our present tense suffering pushes us to raise our eyes in faith to the horizon, where of no merit of our own, our salvation will be in full bloom. Where our bodies will be made new. Where we will be like Him who we image now in part.
Questions for Further Discussion/Application:
Identify one area of your life where you are believing the distortion of the Imageo Dei. What truth will help you correct that distortion? How will you ensure that the true image replaces the false one?
How are you experiencing suffering in your body? What step do you need to take to remind yourself that God is present in your suffering?
Reflecting on your story, when have you been able to image God well? When has the Imageo Dei been most twisted in you? What did you learn from those high/low points?
Blog Bonuses:
Books to help you; What God Has to Say About Our Bodies; The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Songs to sing: Image of God, We Are Messengers; Human, Natalie Grant feat. Jordin Sparks