Excerpt from my Thesis...
Well as I drag my feet in completing my thesis one giant leap of a chapter at a time, I wanted to share with you some of the first chapter and the purpose behind writing my thesis on image - precisely being made in the image of God. This is something I do not believe we focus on or understand the power of being His creation made in His image. Here goes nothin...
Irenaeus
once said, “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the
vision of God.”[1]
The beginning of Genesis testifies man
being made in the image of God. Isaiah 43:6-7 points out the purpose, “I will
say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my
sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who
is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”[2]
God created us in his image to best glorify himself. Sinclair Ferguson stated,
“In Scripture, image and glory are interrelated ideas. As the image of God, man
was created to reflect, express, and participate in the glory of God, in
miniature, creaturely form.”[3]
The
more we resemble God the more we naturally glorify him and experience the
fullness of life. Romans 8:16-17 reads, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our
spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”[4] What
a beautiful picture of our heritage as children of the King. However, from the garden
to today there is a battle within to be known, to be heard, to know one’s
purpose in this life. Why are we not satisfied with our Creator and what he has
created? What is it about needing to take a bite from the forbidden fruit
hoping it will reveal, ease, satisfy, and numb what is missing? There is a
story to be told from the beginning of time and one that includes us.
Peter
Pan was always a favorite as a child. The excitement of adventure, thrill of
staying young, freedom from rules, and flying with pixie dust all sounded like
a dream. There is a part in the book where J.M. Barrie writes, “Off we skip like the most heartless things in the world,
which is what children are, but so attractive; and we have an entirely selfish
time, and then when we have need of special attention we nobly return for it,
confident that we shall be rewarded instead of smacked.”[5] This
quote from Peter Pan explains many of us, our deep down desires and erroneous
view of God. We want to do what we want and when we need God, we will go to him
in hopes for “grace” and no consequences. The other half sees God with wounded
eyes, with irrational fear of God’s character and love for his heir.
The
natural inclination of the heart, one created to glorify God is marred by sin.
Sin has stained the image of God in us, but it has not destroyed it. However,
with that sin draws our heart to reflect the images and idols around us. We
have begun to worship the creation and not the Creator. God speaks these words
in Genesis 6:5-6, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the
earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The Lord was sorry that He had
made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”[6] What
does living in this tension look like and how do we get to a place of truly
having a biblical view of image?
[1] Hedges, Brian. Christ Formed In You.
Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 2010, 27.
[2] The English Standard Version Bible.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
[3] Ferguson, Sinclair B. The Holy
Spirit. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1996, 139-140.
[4] The English Standard Version Bible.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
[5] Barrie, J.M. Peter Pan. New York City: Henry Holt
and Co., 1911.
[6] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance: New American Standard
Bible. Updated ed. La Habra: Lockman Foundation, 1995.
http://www.biblestudytools.com/concordances/strongs-exhaustive-concordance/.
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