LIVING IN THE IMAGE OF GOD IS WHAT MATTERS MOST

I tried very hard to find an "image" or piece of art that appropriately illustrated this item...No surprise, I could not find one.

As is so often the case, I write the following for my own benefit knowing full well that it will not be the proverbial cup of tea for most on line readers who subscribe to the theory that if they want a sermon they will go to church. I confess to being my own best audience and that's why I devote so much of my time to the ongoing publishing of Wrights Lane as a self-serving stimulant. When you've got no one else, you tend to talk to yourself a lot! You also avoid a lot of arguments that way.

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Many people think that science is the cornerstone of intellectual life and most scientists would no doubt agree.

Theoretically, I suppose, it is possible that in time we will understand all the reactions in our body with the aid of computers and more sophisticated and efficacious instruments that are continually being developed. In reality though, science does not have an answer to everything. If you hit upon a phenomenon that cannot be explained, you must admit that two possibilities exist: 1) Either science will someday succeed in clarifying its mechanism and nature, or 2) the matter is beyond the reach of science.

I give a lot of credence to medical pioneer Hans Selye who once suggested that it is impossible to imagine anything that has no previously-experienced characteristics. Try to imagine a color, or mixture of colors, that you have never seen before and does not appear in the spectrum. You need boundless creative imagination to approximate the complexities of the Great Unknown.

Why, for instance, do painters and sculptures always present God of the Universe in an anthropomorphic form -- that is to say, resembling a human being. Now, hold on for a moment...We go even further in the case of the Holy Spirit, which is pictured as a dove.

In primitive religions the divinities and spirits, believed to represent and personify virtually any phenomenon or being, are likewise depicted as similar to man or animals, because it is virtually impossible to imagine a being which is not composed of previously experienced characteristics. And yet, in certain religions, God is not seen in anthropomorphic terms; in fact, some specify that He created man in his own image, not in the bodily sense of the term. 

Genesis 1:26–31 describes the origin of human beings, the most unique of all God's creations. As with other aspects of the creation account, very few details are given. The information we are given, however, is unmistakable. Man is uniquely created ''in the image'' of God, invested with authority over the earth, and commanded to reproduce. These points each establish critical aspects of the Christian worldview, and the proper attitude towards humanity. As with other portions of this chapter, debates over certain details do not override the central truth: man is the purposeful creation of the One True God, and represents something special in this universe as a result.

When it comes down to it, I have no difficulty in imagining the supreme Creator of all things as having no form at all. Even though electricity is a great force, it has no shape. It is somewhat primitive to think that the all-powerful, great God of the Universe must resemble something physical that we have already seen.

It is curious that certain black tribes depict God as similar to a white man, yet many statues of the Holy Virgin Mary represent her as a black woman. It reveals a similar limitation of our imaginative powers that throughout the ages the governing spirits have always been created in the image of man or animals, merely because it is difficult to realize that a being may exist merely by virtue of its power without having any particular shape.

In my mind, I can quite easily imagine a divinity that has no body or substance and actually corresponds to the eternal infallible laws of Nature that have created everything in the universe, laws that must be honored and could never be disobeyed. After all, aren't these the characteristics that every religion attributes to its God? 

True enough, we are made in God’s "image," but the potential value of this image cannot not be realized unless we become conformed to the image of Christ in our morality. To be living in God’s image, we who call ourselves Christian must be in a right (i.e., moral) relationship with God and with other humans, using our minds and our authority to serve God and our fellow humans. This to me is what it means to be in the image of God and conformed to the perfect image of his Son, given to we humans as a saving Grace here on earth.

Geoffrey Bromiley, an ecclesiastical historian and historical theologian, ob­served, “In Himself Christ already sums up all that humanity is to be…. He is a perfect representation of God.” The man known as Jesus is our perfect example. He is formed in us and we are conformed to his image. If we share in the humble estate of the life of Jesus the Christ, we will share in His glory in the next age -- living more fully in His image.

It does no one any good to hide or stifle any part of God’s image; God is most glorified when we embrace his image in ourselves for all that it is, and allow that image to transform and renew everyone we meet. An ideal and noble aim to be sure, but one we should keep foremost in our minds, lest we forget.

Man then, is the visible representation of the invisible God. If one wants to know what God looks like, simply look at others around you, the crowning jewel of creation and the only creature made in His image and likeness. Don't let physical outward appearances in things like eyes, ears, nose, arms and legs interfere with the image that you see...It goes much deeper than that! If you get my drift.