The path of reclaiming God's
image is, I believe, found in following Jesus, and, through such a following, reconciling
with our own humanity. As paradoxical as
this might read, I am convinced that the more we become like Jesus in His
humanity, the more truly God-like we become.
Our humanness is intended to be one way in which God manifests Himself uniquely in the universe: Through the form of a human soul, or spirit-body,
that adds a physical dimension to the divine that, until mankind was created, could
not be grasped by any previously created beings (including the angels). As the scriptures read, "The angels long
to look into such things." (see 1 Peter 1:12). We as humanity are a metaphoric expression of
Who God is. Our love, creativity, and physical
labor echo God's lovingly creative work and allows those who observe such
things to have a finite example (one that they can wrap their minds around) of
the infinite loving-kindness, creativity, and "work ethic" of Almighty
God.
The greatest human ever to walk the earth was Jesus of
Nazareth, the God-Man, Who created everything that exists and then submissively inserted
Himself into the Story that He Himself authored. Many scriptures point to this very reality; a
few, of which, are provided below:
The
people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land
of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will
be on his shoulders. And he will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end. He will reign on
David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice
and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish
this.—Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him
nothing was made that has been made. In
him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the
darkness has not understood it. The Word
became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One
and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I
said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” From the fullness of his grace we have all
received one blessing after another. For
the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and
Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.—John 1:1-5, 14-17
In
your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather,
he made himself nothing, but taking the very nature of a servant, being made in
human likeness. And being found in
appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even
death on a cross!—Philippians 2:5-8
He is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were
created by him and for him. He is before
all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he
is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he
might have the supremacy. For God was
pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself
all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross.—Colossians 1:15-20
In
the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and
the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful
word.—Hebrews
1:1-3a
When
asked to describe God's character and nature, many will use words like "loving", "just", "holy", "all powerful",
"all knowing", and "everywhere present". When describing His positional loftiness, many
of the same people will acknowledge that He is Lord and King over all, that He
is the Master of the universe, and that He is the Shepherd and Husbandman of souls. How, I ask, are these things manifested in
mankind? To answer this question, we
must look at Jesus, for, as I wrote above, Jesus is our Prototype, and it is
He, Who, in His humanness, models for all of us what it means to be an image-bearer
of Elohiym.
In the scriptures, we read in Hebrews 12:2a, "Let us
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith"; and, along
the same lines, in 2 Corinthians 3:18, we read, " But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord." To reclaim our
true humanity as image-bearers, we must look unto Jesus intently and see Him as
He is. As marvelous as it might seem, we
become like that which we focus upon. Unlike
any other machines or organisms on earth, we can service ourselves, evolve, and
shape how and why we operate the way we do.
Ultimately, the key to this shaping is found in Jesus, and, more specifically,
in our "seeing" (or "beholding") Him as He is. For, as the verse above in 1 Corinthians 3 indicates,
transformation within us occurs as we do this very thing. With all this in mind, I would like to spend
the next little while looking a little closer at Jesus, the One Who is, I am
convinced, the definitive representation of what God intended for all of us when
He made us.
Stay tuned for Part 2!!
Peace...
Dave
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