Am I Really the Image of God?

There are many things we hear each week at church that remind us that we are accomplishing less than we should be in our quest to be shaped into who God wants us to be.  I don’t know about you, but I often feel inadequate and sometimes ill-prepared to live up to what is expected of me.  Why do I feel that way?  I suppose you wouldn’t know if you’ve never met me, but I’m sure self-image is a large part of my problem and that of others who share the same viewpoint.  Isn’t it unfortunate that our self-image often doesn’t match our REAL image?

Which brings me to my point – Imago Dei.  That’s fancy Latin and it means the “image of God”.  It’s a term that has been in use since long, long ago when people actually used Latin terms.  It’s derived from the text of Genesis 1:26-27:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 

There you have it, whether you understand it fully or not. You ARE the Imago Dei – the Image of God in the world.  How can that be?  I KNOW me!  I don’t see God in the mirror when I look, I see a flawed, chubby guy with a history of bad decision-making.  Oh sure, there are good things about me, but isn’t it Satan’s job to make me think more about my failures than about my Heavenly Father’s grace and goodness in my life?  It is MY job – and yours – to see myself from God’s perspective, especially after Jesus gave everything to redeem me from all that bad-decision making.  Same for you! 

So, what does it mean that I’m the Imago Dei?  It means I was created to showcase the character of God.  How am I doing at that?  His reputation in the world is related to how I live since I call myself a follower of Jesus.  The Bible passage above says we humans are also supposed to exercise responsibility as we oversee His creation.  I do pretty well at that.  After all, I recycle; isn’t that enough??  Never mind, I already know the answer to that question.  The last piece of the puzzle is that we are ALL called to share in community with God and others.  God wants us to be in a relationship with Him – that’s why Jesus died for our sins, so it could be so.

How does all this look when I actually live as the Imago Dei?  The Bible gives us a clear picture when the writer of Hebrews speaks about Jesus: 

“…in these last days (God has) spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person….”   Hebrews 1:2-3

Jesus was the “brightness” – literally a reflection of God’s glory, and the “express image” (that’s the word “character” in the Greek) of God Himself.  When people saw Jesus, they saw God.  That was the plan all along for Jesus.  But it was also God’s plan all along for me and you – the Imago Dei.  I don’t know about you, but I have some work to do.  Because when people see me, I want them to say, “You know, I see your Father in you.”  The picture won’t be quite as clear as it was with Jesus, but I hope folks can see a little glimpse of God when our lives intersect.  I pray the same for you.

Jacob