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.

The Meaning of Life.

What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? What is the point of life?

These are questions we all ask. Philosophers ponder them. We all long for an answer. But the question I'm asking is: why do we ask these questions?

To ask the meaning of something is to ask about its purpose. When an archaeologist finds a strange object he wonders what it was for? What is the meaning of a kettle? What is the meaning of a knife? The meaning of the kettle is to boil water and the meaning of knife is to cut something. In both cases their meaning is external to them. The creator – man – decides what the objects purpose is and the object fulfils that purpose when it does what it was designed for. Another picture might be, what is the purpose of a private in an army? He cannot see why he does what he does, risking life and limb, but the General, whose plan it is the soldier follows, has a purpose, which he hopes the soldier will accomplish. Again we see that the soldier cannot define meaning for himself amidst the chaos but it is an external agent who defines his meaning. So when we ask what is the meaning of life we are asking: for what was I made? And only our creator can tell us.

If Atheism is true, then why should we ask these questions? We are here by chance and natural selection. There is no purpose. We are nothing but specks, screaming into the darkness to be blown away by the winds of time. This is the conclusion of Nihilism. There is no God therefore there is no meaning. And yet the fact remains they wrestle with this question. We all desire meaning. Some Atheists advocates a form of existentialism where we define our own meaning. But this is nonsense. The kettle and the knife cannot decide what their purpose is. The kettle cannot cannot decide today to be a spoon. The private in the army cannot decide he finds meaning by doing his own thing. Meaning is external. So Nihilism is right. If there is no God then there is no meaning. But in stating that they must have asked the question.

So why do we desire meaning?

If Athesim is true then there is no meaning and it makes no sense to ask about it, think about it or worry about it. We should live like animals, following our instincts to try and pass on our genes. We shouldn't waste time and energy with such questions: they don't help us survive. In fact they could be detrimental – because if there is no great purpose in life why bother even to pass on my genes? Why make the world a better place for my children? Why help humanity or nature to survive? We're all dust. No one will notice if we're gone. The universe will march on in indifference if humanity should cease to look on it. In short, to ask why we are here does not have any evolutionary advantage, so can only be explained as an accidental by-product of conciousness. This is not explanation but a mere just-so story and doesn't really satisfy. The same as life without meaning doesn't satisfy. Instead, I think, a better explanation is that we were indeed created.

When we ask the question: what is the meaning of life? It is a tacit admission that deep down we know that we are created even if we deny it to ourselves. If there is a creator it makes sense that we should want to know why He made us. It makes sense that He should place it in our being to want to know why he made us. It makes sense to ask the question - why is there meaning - as there is the possibility of an answer even if we may not like it.

Judgemental!

Ow!

How it hurts to be called judgemental. Yet when I'm honest with myself the hat fits. And the Bible agrees:

 ¹ You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Romans 2:1-3

So when am I guilty?

Whenever I judge someone.

When I condemn people for theft and am lazy at work. When I look down on people for sleeping around when I'm struggling with lust.  When I think my doctrine's perfect and wonder how can others believe such strange things.  When I know exactly what someone is struggling with and just how to fix it. 

¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

   ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Matthew 7:1-5

But thank God for Christ.  The one who will judge us is a friend of sinners.  He didn't consider Himself too holy to be with us but came to Earth to save us.  He didn't tell the Samaritan woman (John 4) to sort her life out and then come back.  No.  He offered her living water: eternal life and the Spirit. He offers us the same. He gives us His spirit to change our hearts where our problems really start.

So I pray that God would change me so that I'm not judgemental.  That when I see others struggling with sins that I won't become proud that I've 'got it sorted', as if my efforts can change my heart, but I'll point them to Jesus the one who can truly help them.

Whitewashed tomb!

 ²⁷ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. ²⁸ Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matthew 23:27-28

Much as I hate to admit it, I fear that I too can be a whitewashed tomb.  As a Christian, I know the things that please and displease God and, perhaps more so, I know what other Christians expect from me.  So I make my behaviour meet these expectations and become a whitewashed tomb..

Surely fighting sin is a good thing?  Yes it is, but if all I do is alter my behaviour my deepest problem remains:

²⁰ And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you.²¹ For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Mark 7:20-21 

If my heart doesn't change then all I've done is painted over the problem.  I become proud that I've achieved x,y and z and judge people who haven't.  This is the best I can achieve with my own efforts and it's not good enough.  I need Christ. Only Christ can change my Heart.  Only He can cause me to desire Him above all else.

Repentance must start in the heart and work outwards.  My desires need to change first and then my behaviour will follow. When I value Christ above all else then the temptations that I face seem less attractive.  When I realise that my heart is the problem then I won't beat myself up for giving into temptation (though there's still no excuse to sin) because that failure is just a symptom of my problem.  When I realise my heart is the problem I know that any change in me is by God's grace.

There's no room for boasting.

2010 - the year just gone.

This morning was the first day back in the office after the Christmas break and my optimism for the year ahead faded within thirty minutes: I'd maxed the memory on the maths department server and flicking through the current form of my thesis left me daunted by all the work I need to do.  So what's better than to spend the evening blogging about 2010?

Struggles
Feeling like I've made almost no progress on my PhD all year.  I can't think of anything clever to do and am left with a brute force method that maxes out my computers memory.  Trying to work out what God wants me to do with my life after my PhD. Struggling with lust. Wondering if all the CU evangelistic activities and my prayers are producing any fruit.  Wondering if I'm doing too many things. Wondering what I should be doing.

Highlights
Milking Cows and hearing the radio say it was currently colder in the U.K. than in Alaska. Walking to St Martha's in the snow. Flying for the first time. Running up Arthur's seat before breakfast and staring over Edinburgh. Two new leaders my church's youth club. Traveling to Turkey to see five of the seven churches of Revelation. Becoming an uncle. The team on Life 2010 and running along the sea front in howling wind and torrential rain.  A wedding in Jutland. A trip to London Aquarium - sharks are cool. Five new kids, without connections to the church, joining the youth club.  God providing a job for my girlfriend and keeping her employed. My sister finishing her degree.  More snow.  Building an igloo (some determined friends, 2 recycling boxes to compact snow into, and... 4 an a half hours of hard work). My friend passing his PhD and getting a postdoc position. Running in the snow.  Spending time with my girlfriend.

So what have I learnt?
God has blessed me in lots of ways despite all the things I'm struggling with. I'm not very clever.  I'm a terrible procrastinator.  Relationships are important.  I can't do everything.  I can't know everything.  Christ is central to everything.

That 2011 is going to be a challenging year.