the image of God

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)


These words describe the creation of the very first people. In the image of God – our species bears the likeness of God, something that can not be said for any other living being. What a privilege!

Several years ago I had a conversation with an older gentleman, a complete stranger, about God and about our creation in the image of God. To this day, his words still resonate in my heart as truth. “We were created in the image of God but the problem is that ever since our creation we try to create God in our image”.

You see, we somehow assume that God is like me. In Isaiah 44, God speaks to His people. He points out the foolishness of their created idols and images carved out of wood. The craftsman cuts down a tree. With some of the wood he builds a fire with which to bake his bread and cook his meat. With the rest of the wood he carves an image according that reflects his ideas of god, sets it up and calls it his god. What foolishness!

Yet before we cast stones of criticism, it might be helpful to examine our own tendencies. While today we are too sophisticated to carve an image out of wood to worship, we still create our own image of God. Not surprisingly our image of God looks remarkably like us. The writer of the Proverbs speaks to the outcome of our created images - There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 16:25).

Is there any wonder that the ministry of restoration, healing and life can so rarely be found in the church world today? Is it any wonder that true transformation is more theoretical and less an actuality in those who call themselves Christians? Is there any wonder that believers, wounded by their entanglement in sin, have repeatedly told Bev and I that they find more death than life in their interactions in the church world.

How do we deal with our inborn tendency to create a god in our own image? The answer can be found in the person of Jesus. Look at the words of Paul to the church at Corinth - …lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord…(2 Corinthians 4:4-5). Jesus was the only man that ever fully lived in the image of God. He was “God with us”.

The problem with the person of Jesus is that He to this day is a controversial man. When we approach Jesus apart from our preconceived notions of who He is, we discover how frequently His words and actions assault our personal paradigms. At the point of offense, the choice we make will determine whether we cling to the way that seems right to us (that will lead to death) or whether we allow the Christ to be formed in us that allows the image of God truly shine forth.