Made in the Image of God

Last week I blogged some stuff about being made in the image of God.  I’ve given that some more thought and tried to come up with some applications of that idea.

Since I am an educator, I think like an educator and these ideas come from that perspective.

Education must impact the student or it serves no purpose.  In order to really impact students, we have to consider the whole child – mind, body, and spirit.  We have to see our students as unique creations of God. Every one is different and yet all are created in His image. 

Keep in mind there is a huge difference between being made like God and being God.  God’s attributes are infinite and perfect.  Ours are finite and imperfect.  We are the reflection of a living God.  A reflection is not the real thing but displays what the real thing looks like. Our lives should reflect what God is like.

God is an active and purposeful God.  He is not just sitting back waiting to see how events will unfold.  Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God makes things happen according to His will and good purpose.  God is busy trying to reach out to the lost – not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.  Psalm 135:6 says that the Lord does whatever pleases him.  He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He was responsible for the rise and fall of kings and kingdoms. The point being made is that God has been purposefully acting since the creation of the world. 

We should also be purposefully acting.  I guess the key is what is your purpose. Since we are made in the image of God we are purposeful beings.  Therefore our purpose should be aligned with God’s purpose and not a self-centered purpose.  The students in our classes are acting with a purpose.  The children who we see as doing nothing as also acting with a purpose.  Their purpose doesn’t always align with our purpose and that’s were problems arise. 

God is a rational God.  He is a thinking, evaluating, problem-solving, logical God. He operates according to rules and not according to chaos.  That’s why the world makes sense. That’s why mathematics always works. That’s what holds the universe together. 

When we think our way through a problem to a logical solution, we are reflecting God’s character. Thinking is built into our existence.  All our efforts to make sense of this world involve thinking. Our students are thinking all the time. Our goal is to guide their thinking, to keep them on track, to help them solve their problems through a Biblical worldview. 

God is a creative God.  This is clearly seen in Genesis.  God takes delight in His creation.  God pronounced that His creation was good – he gave it value. 

As a reflection of God’s character we are continually creating things.  Then we often decide whether we think they are “good”.  We labor to produce the item and then we delight in it.  When I think about this my mind immediately goes to art work but this idea has far reaching applications.  Our creations could be books, science theories, technological items, movies, or even families.  One thing that I see in schools is that creativity is often squelched in students.  So much of education is geared towards “the right answer” that children are not challenged to create their own solutions.  Children are afraid to step outside the acceptable response and offer alternatives.  We need to encourage the creative thinker.  After all, they could be the next Thomas Edison.

When thinking about God’s character, I think of morality or in other words a standard of what is right and what is wrong.  Things like loving mercy, hating evil, being selfless, those things are right.  They are right because they align with God’s laws.  Someone higher than us has to determine right and wrong.  These things are not arbitrary or relative. 

Psalm 119:30 says “I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.”  We make choices and decide what we are going to do.  Our actions display our choices and our heart.  (Mark 7:21) God’s law is the standard and we expected to “do justly” (Micah 6:8) and therefore reflect God’s character.

God is a social being.  Even before creation, He existed as a trinity.  Genesis 1:26 says “Let us make man in our image.”  This indicates a joint effort.  Isaiah 6:8, God asks “Who will go for us?”  God wanted us to get involved in ministry. 

God created us with a need for two kinds of relationships.  We have a created need to have a relationship with God.  1 Corinthians 1:9 talks about our need for fellowship with Jesus.  We also have a need for relationships with other people.  Think about the relationship between David and Jonathan.  Or how about Paul and Timothy.  Our relationships should be characterized by love and support.  Our students need these kinds of relationships.  How can we encourage and foster these?  Sometimes in our effort to “do school”, we stifle their efforts to communicate and to develop those deep long lasting friendships.

God acts freely and according to His purposes.  He makes choices according to His will.  He chose to create the universe.  He created us with that same free will. 

We make choices all the time.  Sometimes good choices and others are not so good.  We are accountable for those choices.  (We reap what we sow.) Freedom and responsibility go hand in hand.  You can’t have one without the other.  As an educator, I must give my students the opportunity to make choices.  Then they need to accept the consequences, whether good or bad, for those choices.  We cannot simply keep telling our students what to do and what to believe. 

There are many more attributes that I could write about but I think I will quit here.  The main point is that we are to reflect God’s character.  When people look at my life, something should point them to God.  It may be my actions, my purpose, or my standards for right and wrong.  It could be how I show love, justice, and mercy to others.  It could be how I relate and communicate with others. 

Think about how others see you.  Would they be pointed toward God?  Are you looking at others like they are unique creations of God.  Do you remember that God loves them, too?  (even if they fail your test)  Are you conscious that each child has a special and God-given purpose?  (Even the ones that annoy you.) Treat people the way that God would want you to treat them.  When they mess up, cut them some slack – you mess up sometimes too.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great day.

A lot of these thoughts come from things I learned years ago from Dr. Graham at Covenant College.  Thanks Dr. Graham for the impact you had on my life.

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