The Image of God

 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

 27 So God created mankind in his own image,
   in the image of God he created them;
   male and female he created them.

 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:27-28

Humans are made in God's image; but what does this mean?

In some way we are meant to be a reflection of what God is like. The question is in what way?

I think we display God's image in those moments when we see something in us that is truly noble.

Those moments when we admire something in another human.

The bravery of a soldier who risks all to fulfil his duty.

The creativity of an artist who dazzles us with beauty.

The loving care of a mother with her new born baby.

The sacrifice of an aid worker to help the poor and needy.

The ingenuity of an engineer to build a stunning structure.

The married couple living for the sake of each other.

The whistle-blower defying all for the sake of truth.

The righteous verdict that brings forth justice.

The patience of a teacher with an unruly pupil.

The act of mercy that brings forth peace.

The problem is these are only glimpses. We're all sinful. Broken. Not as we were meant to be. The image is tarnished. So where does the image of God truly lie?

In Christ.

He is the perfect Man. He is the second Adam. Through Him we see what God is truly like.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Hebrews 1:3.

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? John 14:9-10.

Yes, Jesus displays God's power and knowledge because He is truly God. But He's also truly man. Through Jesus we see God's character. We see his compassion, his love, his mercy, his determination, his sacrifice, his love of truth and justice. These are all things that humans are capable of, however imperfectly, and they reflect what God is like. When we see these things in humans, however sinful, however broken, whether atheist or Christian, we catch a shadow of what we were meant to be.

But this is not all. Christ didn't come just to show us what God is like. He came to save us. And if we trust in Him then God restores His image in us. As we love and follow Christ He transforms us to be like Him:

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18.

And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15:49.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29.

God's goal is to make us like His Son. So we might display His glory to all creation.