The Image of God: What's My Excuse?
A little boy was found crying because he had lost the note his mother had given him for his schoolteacher explaining why he did not have a birth certificate. Wailing aloud, the little boy cried, “I’ve lost my excuse for being born.”
What is my excuse for being born? Is there a blueprint somewhere that I’m supposed to follow? There is. It’s called the image of God. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26, 27).
The image of God is reflected, first, in our lives as individuals—love for God, love for self; second, in our homes as single or married persons—love to parents and siblings, love to spouse and children; third, in our communities as be-lievers—love for church, love for community. That’s God’s plan, but there’s another strategy at work that goes something like this: Destroy the image of God. Split up what God has joined together and you will create strife in our lives, dissention in our homes, and war in our communities. And it seems to be working.
In Our Lives
“Dear Dr. Brown,” the letter read. “It is painful for me to see couples, because I wish I could be part of a couple. I feel that God has neglected this aspect of my life. Dr. Brown, I know not all couples have a good relationship, but I am tired, really tired, of being alone.”1
God announced to the woman, “You will long for your husband. And he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). The reality is that this inescapable by-product of disobedience would henceforth profoundly distort self-image. Psychologist Penelope Russianoff states: “About 95 percent of my female patients think that they are nothing without a man. The enormous desire for a male partner is probably the closest thing to a common denominator that women have.”2
Two factors comprise a good self-image: appreciating who I am and understanding why I am. When it comes to who I am, God wants us to love our selves, our minds, our temperaments, and our bodies (Matthew 19:19). He also urges us, as William DeVaughn puts it, to “be thankful for what you’ve got” (Philippians 4:11). The devil wants us to loathe ourselves and to envy what others have and are. When it comes to why I am, God wants us to know that there is a unique niche only you can fill, that drives us to excellence. The devil wants us to think we are not that significant, which drives us to suicide.3 Og Mandino’s prayer is still true: “Verily there must be a special place for me. Let me become all you planned for me when my seed was planted and selected by you to sprout in the vineyard of the world. Guide me, God.”4
In Our Homes
Candace Schap tells how her younger sister Melody received all the attention at home, until seven years later. That was when their mother brought home a new baby, and in the next few years, two more children were added. Melody was devastated. Without warning, she was shoved out of her birth-order niche. She rapidly put on weight, became the rebel of the family, struggled with low self-esteem, and had a disastrous first marriage. It wasn’t until she was secure in her value to God that she was able to deal with the weight problem, and she had a strong second marriage.5
It’s easy not to like ourselves and to view God as some distant demagogue. Because we refer to God as He, He is associated with the masculine gender. The Bible says: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:26, 27). God is referred to as plural; so the image of God that embraces male and female is also plural. Both genders complement each other, and together they make up the image of God. The Hebrew word for God does have a masculine plural ending and takes masculine forms of the verb, but the Bible also includes feminine imagery and qualities for God (see Deuteronomy 32:11; Isaiah 49:15, 16; 66:12, 13; Hosea 13:8; Matthew 23:37). These texts suggest that God’s care for us is similar to the care a mother has for her children.
Male, female, married, single, Black, White, adult, child—all of us have the opportunity to experience the image of God. The psalmist says: “God places the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6). We are urged to “visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction” (James 1:27), and ensure that our children are placed in healthy, faith-filled, nonabusive families, whether nuclear, extended, or adopted, and if that is not done, their image of God as a loving parent is destroyed. Our children can work only with the tools we give them.
In Our Communities
Elizabeth Skoglund tells the story of Lisa, as intelligent as she was beautiful. Nevertheless, she confessed, “I tried to overdose with pills because I’m ugly, stupid, and generally worthless.” Skoglund comments: “People with self-esteem problems present as many varying symptoms as there are different people. The root problem is a defective self-image.”6
When the image of God is defaced, the result is disrespect, disturbance, and destruction in our communities. Christians have the responsibility to showcase God’s image to a broken world. That image is not a stereotypical artist’s caricature of Jesus. It includes a physical semblance, but it encompasses much more. One commentator says: “When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical, mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. ‘God created man in his own image’ (Genesis 1:27), and it was His purpose that the longer man lived the more fully he should reveal this image—the more fully reflect the glory of the Creator.”7
God is looking at His church to be united in purpose, because that will speak volumes to the world (John 17:3). The church is the apple of God’s eye. He believes in us, He empowers us, and He’s trusting His reputation and His image to His church.
Restoration Has Finally Come
The image of God in us has faded now. Sin has done a terrible job. Like the victim of a tragic accident declared unrecognizable even by a spouse, so God’s image has almost been obliterated. God can hardly recognize us. But He sent His Son Jesus to restore His image in us: a physical image—health (3 John 2); a mental image—the mind (Romans 12:2); a social image—togetherness (John 17:21); and a spiritual image—love (1 Corinthians 13:13). God has no hands but our hands. He asks us to help the helpless, the hapless, and the hopeless. Loving your neighbors as yourself will restore the image of God in them and you. And you will find your “excuse” for being born.
JEFFREY O. BROWN, Ph.D., is a former professor of pastoral care and counseling at Oakwood University, Huntsville, Alabama. He currently serves as president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bermuda.
References
1 Brown, Jeffrey. Single and Gifted: Making the Most of Your Singleness. Autumn House, 2001.
2 Russianoff, Penelope. Why Do I Think I Am Nothing Without a Man? Bantam, 1982.
3 Johnston, Jerry. Why Suicide: What Parents and Teachers Must Know to Save Our Kids. Oliver Nelson, 1987.
4 Mandino, Og. The Greatest Salesman in the World. Lifetime Books, 1996.
5 Schap, Candace. Sometimes I Don’t Like Myself: Repairing a Damaged Self-Image. Pacific Press, 1992.
6 Skoglund, Elizabeth. Loving Begins With Me. Harper & Row, 1979.
7 White, Ellen G. Education. Pacific Press, 1903.
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