As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
You’re staring at the painting, pretending to appreciate it like those around you in the museum. Maybe they are pretending too? You’re not sure. What is this picture? Why do so many people like it? What’s the big deal? Maybe this is how you feel about the image of God. How does knowing you are an image bearer help you? What are the practical implications of bearing God’s image?
“they taught me to think about the creative act as a kind of worship, as a way to be human. Since we were made to glorify God, worship happens when someone is doing exactly what he or she was made to do.” - IFWE
“because we’re the image of God, yearn for beauty. It’s in our DNA; we can’t help but admire it. On the other hand, we routinely destroy it.” - By Faith
Read Part 1.
The mirror shattered. When first made, the mirror perfectly reflected its Maker. A clean, clear picture revealed Him. But when the pit of that fruit struck the glass, snaking cracks distorted His image. Blurring obscured what He intended His creation to see. God’s image remained but not as He designed it to be.
No, you are not omnipotent, and you never will be. You are not a god, and you cannot ascend to that level. That’s been tried, and the devil and his angels got condemned forever for it. Yet, God made you like Him. You bear the image of God.
Genesis 1:26 records how God created human beings: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” By design, God purposely made us like Him. But how? What does it mean to bear the image of God?
“Desecration can take many forms, but it is always characterized by certain things: a delight in dehumanizing those made in God’s image; and an absence of gratitude to God” - Carl Trueman
“When artists, be they Christian or not, create works of art, they are participating in God’s superabundance in one of four ways. First, their work bears witness to the reality of God.” - IFWE
“ ‘The Image of God: What It Means to Be Human in a Culture of Death’ – was cosponsored by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Land Center for Cultural Engagement and Stand for Life, an initiative of the … (ERLC).” - BPNews
“I want to define antithesis and common grace in their historical context to show that these concepts, when held together, help us to maintain a Scriptural balance. They help us remember that the devil is our enemy (not humanity) ” - Wyatt Graham
“Conservatives quickly memed Jackson, portraying her refusal to answer the question as clear indication of progressive nonsense. After all, anyone should be able to define what a woman is. The only problem with this, of course, is that we’ve struggled to define what a woman is for thousands of years.” - Hannah Anderson
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