Image Bearers
2/8/2023
Written By: Stephen Cox
There is a phrase that comes from the Latin version of the Scriptures. The phrase has its origins in Genesis 1:27, wherein "God created man in his own image..." Imago Dei. This sets us, as humans, apart from all other creatures.
This phrase is as much about God placing His Image upon us as it is about His care for us. God has and will continue to use those with whom He has emblazoned His Image to accomplish His work and mission in this world. Whether or not we acknowledge this to be true, it is still true. God has placed upon us all His Image.
God is a God of ALL people. After all, John 3:16 tells us so. God sent Jesus for the WORLD, so He certainly believes ALL lives are valuable. In Isaiah 56, God is sharing his love for all people…not just the Hebrews…in verse 7:
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.”
Jesus even brings this passage of Scripture to light when He finds the religious leaders and money changers have been setting up shop in the Court of the Gentiles outside the Temple, thus EXCLUDING the Gentiles from accessing their part of the Temple grounds.
Scripture also tells us in Luke 4 as Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:
16 He (Jesus) went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
It certainly seems as though God is interested in those who are oppressed and mistreated. Those who are beaten and broken…and not just in the figurative sense of the word. He declares favor is coming to those whom He sets free. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Ps 34:18).” God’s heart beats for those who are undervalued, underserved, and underappreciated!
Maybe we need a shift in perspective. As Christ followers: we’re surrounded by Image Bearers.
That new teenage driver that is going JUST under the speed limit and stops for what seems like an eternity at every stop sign? Yep…Image Bearer. The server who seems frazzled and just can’t seem to focus and keeps forgetting to fill your drink? Image Bearer. That uncle
whose political views grate on your soul at family gatherings. Image Bearer. That aunt who just can’t seem to see you without asking when you’re going to start having kids. Image Bearer.
God is the God of ONE. You. Yes, You. And you. And you, too. And me. King David says it like this:
Psalm 139:13-16
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
King Jesus says it this way:
The Parable of the Wandering Sheep:
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
If we think about sharing God’s love with the 5 billion people of the world who do not claim Christ, we get overwhelmed. But Imago Dei. That person sitting beside you as you read these words. Image Bearer. The person who will take your order at lunch. The cashier at the gas station as you grab a snack after school. The mechanic who is fixing your car. Each and every person you come into contact with is an Image Bearer with a built-in need to connect with the One who emblazoned His Image upon and within them. And if we can live in a way that reflects that Imago Dei, we can make an impact one life at a time.