Category Archives: Imago dei

You Look Just Like Him — God’s Image Bearer

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“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.”‭‭ 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When I was in college, I was with a group of friends waiting to be seated at the Olive Garden. We were laughing and talking when a woman that I did not know came up to me and asked me, “Are you Jim Bergman’s daughter? You have to be. You look and act just like him.” It turns out she was my dad’s first cousin and knew him quite well. God created us in His image. His desire is for us to reflect Him, as I reflected my earthly dad at that restaurant. When people look at us, do they ask, “Are you God’s daughter? You have to be. You look and act just like Him?”  

God is a triune God. He is three distinct persons, but all completely one — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are also have three distinct parts— spirit, soul, and body. Each of these parts have a distinct function. Yet we are completely one. God’s intention for us was that all of us our whole being would be sanctified or “kept blameless” — reflect His character. Or in simple terms, we are to “look like our Heavenly Daddy.” 

How is this even possible? It is God’s plan. It is God’s work He does in us. It is accomplished through our deep and intimate relationship with Him. (More on this later.) 

For now, I want to leave you with this question:

Do I desire to be God’s girl reflecting my Heavenly Father to those I am around? If so, ask Him to change you more and more into what you were meant to be all along, a reflection of Him — His image bearer. 

God’s Image Bearer — A Life of Significance

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“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.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Have you ever felt that you were here for something more than just the ordinary daily grind? That is because you are! God created you in His image. An image is a representation of a person, expression of, copy of, reflection of. You and I were created to represent and express God. We are a copy of Him or a reflection. This is our true design. It is what we were meant for.  We were created to display God to all of creation. We were made to display God’s character and His ways. 

This desire for something more or something bigger than ourselves has been placed deep within us. Ecclesiastes 3:11 describes it this way. “…He has also set eternity in the human heart…”  God has made us for something greater. That greater is Himself! 

The problem is we have been deceived into thinking WE were made for a life of greatness — where we exalt ourselves and we make ourselves known. Living to promote and exalt ourselves will only end in emptiness. We are meant for more, a life of significance — one that signifies or makes someone who is greater (GOD) known. A life of significance is a life of meaning and purpose. 

Have you felt the longing for something more in your life or something greater than what you are currently experiencing? So often we are deceived into thinking that we need to do more for ourself in order to be happy — gratify ourselves, exalt ourselves, do more to fix ourselves (self help). This is a misplaced longing. 

The longing for something more is not meant to discourage you or make you feel less than… It is meant to draw you to what you were created for — the  one true “life of significance” — a life in pursuit of knowing God! 

We can only experience this as we are connected to God in a deep and intimate relationship. It is through that relationship that God shows Himself to us and through us! The more we know Him, the more we will display Him or live as we were created to live, as God’s image bearer, reflecting God to those around us! 

Love As Jesus Loved

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Today let’s read John 13:18-38.

Time is ticking. Jesus knows His time with His disciples on earth is coming to a close. He gives them a new command: 

““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus had already told them what the greatest command was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And the second to love your neighbor as yourself. 

Jesus wanted the ones who follow Him to take that further. That is to love as He loves! This Agape love, “God’s love” is self sacrificial, forgiving, and gives away all for another. It is the kind of love that benefits and prospers another person with no expectation of receiving anything in return. This kind of love is not possible for us to demonstrate in our own lives on our own. It is His love that He pours out inside of us through the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. (Romans 5:5) 

When we love as Jesus loves, we demonstrate or reflect Him to the world. In fact Jesus says that this is how everyone will know that we are “HIS” disciples — when we love as He loves. We will be living as one who bears HIS Image to the world. 

Holy Spirit we ask You to fill us with Your love so we can do as Jesus commanded. We desire to love as Jesus loved! 

The Hour Has Come — Glorify Him!

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Today let’s read John 12:20-36. 

“Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”” (Verse 23) 

Glorified — honored, dignified, exalted to glory. (Websters 1828)

Jesus speaks the words above and then begins to predict His death. Glorified but losing His life? Glorified but being lifted up on a cross — the most horrid method of Roman torture and execution… ? It almost seems to contradict. 

But with Jesus death is not the end of the story! He is the Resurrection and the Life! Those who die in Him will live and never die! (John 11:25-26) 

We are invited to participate in Jesus’s life where He is glorified (right here right now), but as His servants, we also go where He goes. This means we follow Jesus to the cross/ death to ourselves —our selfish and sinful nature. 

If we really want to experience Jesus and His life to the fullest, we must lose our lives built on ourselves— what we want, when and how we want it. (verse 25) Taking on Jesus’s life where He is glorified — displayed in us! 

You and I were created with a purpose — to know God! As we come to know Him, we will display Him wherever we go. This is being His image bearer. In order for us to glorify God with our lives, display Him to those around us, who we were before we came to Jesus must die daily. 

Am I experiencing the true life of Jesus? Or am I holding on to my old sinful life? Am I following Jesus all the way to the cross/ death to my selfish ways so I can be alive to Him? 

The hour has come for us to live our lives Glorifying Jesus! 

The Romans Challenge: Overflow!

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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We were not created to dwell in anxiety, fear, and depression!

Long ago, in the Garden of Eden, mankind was created to dwell connected to God. We were made to be His image bearers, reflecting all that He is to our world. When sin entered, that connection was broken and that image was shattered. However, Jesus came!

Jesus came to set us free from sin and to enable us to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes into our lives the moment we receive the New Life Jesus came to give us! The Holy Spirit empowers us to live according to our original design as “image bearers” of God.

Our God is a God of Peace. Our God is a God of joy. Our God is a God of hope! By the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, we can be filled to overflowing with His peace, joy, and hope! Yet so many of us do not live our lives this way…

I know this from experience. For years, I lived as a Christian full of anxiety, fear, and depression… I tried in my own power, using man’s ways, to fix the way I felt. All of these attempts ended in failure. Until, I determined that I needed to truly surrender EVERY area of my life to God. I decided that I would pursue Him above all things, and live my life focused on Him!

How is this even possible? By the power of the Holy Spirit! By faith in God and His Word, i.e. trusting in Him!

I was living my life focused on me. I was very me-centered! God made us to live our lives focused on Him. Our thoughts are to be focused on Him and His Word. Our speech is to reflect that focus — speaking His truth and His life regarding ourselves, our circumstances, our families, etc. Our actions will fall into line as our focus is laser focused on God and His Word!

Here is the truth of what we all need… We need to live our lives with this motto: Less of me…More of Him! When we overflow with the Holy Spirit in our lives, we will experience what we were created to be all along: People who dwell with hope— a confident expectation of good; People who trust Him — believe that God said it, I believe it, that settles it; People who live with joy, — an emotion that is excited by the expectation of good; People who live with peace — freedom from disturbance or agitation.

Holy Spirit we ask You to fill us up til we overflow with You!

For Such A Time As This

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“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

You and I have a small part to play in God’s Orchestral Piece called “History.” Our time here is short… But God makes no mistakes. He has placed us right here, right now for His purpose! Will we step up and play our part?

We can look at the events of our world and become VERY afraid, or we can accept our call.

Let us not cower in the corner with fear or live our lives with indifference. We have our part to play. We are not our own. We are God’s. He wants us to shine His light into ever dark corner of our communities and our world!
He is not done! He has not abandoned His plan.

“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Romans Challenge: Living Sacrifice

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“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

If we are in relationship with Jesus, there will be evidence. We will be changed! When we look at all that Jesus did for us on the cross and see how great the mercy of God is towards us, we see what a wonderful and giving God we have. The only response is for us to give back to Him all that we have, our lives. This is our “spiritual worship.” (ESV). How do we give ourselves to God as we should? He wants EVERYTHING! He wants us to love Him with all that we are (entirely, totally, and completely).

The sacrifices in the Old Testament were laid upon an altar and burned completely. They were offered up completely to God. We are to live our lives that way. Everything about us is His – our time, our money, our entertainment, our jobs, our homes, our cars, our family, our clothing, our choices of food and drink, etc. It is ALL His!

How does this work practically in our world we live in today? We are to live our lives not as the world patterns it, but as God has told us we need to live in His Word! We are to continue to be “transformed” in our hearts and our lives. This comes as we allow God to renew our minds (our way we think and act) by coming to His Word over and over throughout our day.

You and I were meant to display God to the world around us. We are to be distinctly different. This only occurs as we allow God to change us and we become more and more like Him every moment of every day. As we know Him more, we will love Him more. As we love Him more, we will obey Him more. As we obey Him and live as He desires, we will be like Him. Living like this requires surrender to Him and His ways!

May we live our lives as “a living sacrifice.” Set apart for Him and His Glory!

The Romans Challenge: The Patience of God

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“What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For many years, I struggled with the concept of the wrath of God. It seemed like God was an angry God, and that He was looking for the perfect opportunity to throw some lightening bolts toward us for messing up. What a lie I believed! God is a patient God!

In order to understand God’s patience, it is helpful to truly understand the nature of sin. Sin divides and separate us from God. This is because God is holy. He cannot have sin within Himself. Sin is like a spiritual cancer. It destroys our lives and will eventually kill us. Sin brings nothing but death, darkness, and destruction to our lives. God hates sin! This is because sin keeps us from being in a relationship that is close and connected to Him. God will eventually eradicate sin from our world when He comes in His judgement. He will end the pain and suffering sin has produced. He will make all things new. But for now He is patient in His longing to destroy evil. Why? Because He wants “to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy…”

He wants us to know Him. He has patiently waited for us to come to Him so He can have the opportunity to reveal Himself to us. God’s glory is the sum total of His attributes. It is who He is. He wants us to know—experience intimately— who He is. He wants us to know His perfect love. He wants us to experience His complete joy. He wants us to be intimately acquainted with His perfect peace.

We are the “objects of His mercy.” God’s mercy — His tenderness of His heart, His benevolence, His willingness to overlook our offenses (forgive) — is directed towards us! His plan for us is for us to know Him and through that knowledge, we will become like Him. We will display Him to those around us. We will make Him known. This is what God desires for us and intends for us. This is why He patiently waits for us to come!

God is continually holding out the opportunity for us to KNOW Him! Jesus provided all that we needed to be able to come close to God through His death, burial, and resurrection. God has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of us so we can experience Him every moment of every day. God has given us His Word so we can learn about His character, His desires, and who He is. He patiently waits for us to come to Him and experience His glory — who He is!

Thank You Father for Your patience. We know Your desire is to end the suffering that sin has brought, and You wait patiently to execute your just judgements. This is because You desire for everyone to KNOW You! Help us to truly desire to know You more and to make You known to everyone You place in or path! In Jesus name!

The Romans Challenge: The Children of the Promise

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“In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As my kids were growing up, my husband and I took them to church faithfully. We talked about God often. I read them Bible stories and worked with them on memorizing Scripture. In all of this, I told them. I can tell you about God, but I cannot give you a relationship with God. You MUST get that relationship on your own.

The Jewish people thought they had the “in” with God. They were blood descendants with the Fathers of their faith. But they were missing something… relationship with God. This is not something they could receive as a physical inheritance. They had to receive the relationship by faith. “The children of the promise” are the ones who are “regarded as Abraham’s offspring.” 

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When we come to Christ and accept Him as our Savior, we enter into a relationship with God. We become His child. We receive His promise of salvation for those who believe. We are “the children of the promise.” Our relationship with God as His child is not through a human pedigree or our personal efforts to live the best we can. It is not our own doing at all (no jumping through hoops). It is not the result of our relationship with our mom, dad, grandpa, or grandma (we don’t have to be biologically related to the right person.) Relationship with God comes from a personal faith — one on one. We believe and then we simply receive what God promised to us!

The promise is simply this:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Thank You God for the simplicity of Your Good News! Relationship with You is received through faith in Your promise!

The Romans Challenge: Jesus Image

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“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. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Last month, my husband and I went to Mt. Rushmore for the very first time. As we were driving through the Black Hills of South Dakota to get to its location, we were taking in the beauty of the mountains. Then the thought came to us, “who is it that just looks at a mountain and sees a monument with the faces of the Presidents? But not only that, they create it?” You and I are similar to that mountain in South Dakota. God looked at us and predetermined that He was going to create the very image of Jesus in us!

Though it is hard for me to comprehend and believe at times, this is exactly what God had planned for me, “before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4 ESV) God has had a plan for you and me. He doesn’t see us as we do…sin scarred, messed up, worthless, etc. He sees us fully conformed to the image of Christ— beautiful. In fact, we can be assured that He has begun a good work in us and He will finish it! (Philippians 1:6)

God predestined. He marked out beforehand (Greek for “predestined”) what we will be. This predestination is a present process of a future hope. (Berean Study Notes — Bible Hub) What we are going through today is being used to produce our future that has a confident expectation of good. What is the good we expect? The greatest good we could ever experience is to be just like Jesus. God called us, or invited us (Greek for “called”) to this. He justified us through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. He provided the way for us to be cleansed of our sin and placed us in right relationship with Him. He has glorified us — made us His image bearers. This is what we are now, Jesus Image, here on earth. This is what we will become more and more of as we surrender our lives to Him!

What a wonderful promise for us now and the not yet! Being just like Jesus is our glorious future in Him!