The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in James 3:9,
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness."
As James talks about the challenges we have with the sinful things that come out of our mouths, he points to the unseemliness of praising God in one moment and then in another cursing men made in his image, his "likeness". It just isn't fitting. If we really love God, if we really fear God, if we reverence the things that are his, how is it we can possibly treat with contempt those he has made in his own image? It just isn't fitting: "My brothers, this should not be." Verse 10.
The recognition that mankind is made in the image of God carries many implications. One is the notable grounds for capital punishment for murder. In a great paradox we read, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man." Genesis 9:6. In that passage God said, "And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man." Verse 5. This is in recognition of the pattern after which mankind was made, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:26-27.
As I think of what it means to have been created, designed in God's own image, thoughts come to my mind. We have a measure of intelligence, certainly not on the order of God's intelligence, but nevertheless, we do possess some. Hand in hand, we have the capacity for wisdom, a whole other matter. There seems to be precious little of that found in the world today. We have emotions, just as God has, along with passions and desires, just as God has. Ours, of course have been horribly corrupted through our rebellion against him.
God is also a communicator, he has a sense of humor, he makes his own decisions and he is very creative. We, likewise have been given capacity for all of these by God when he designed us.
What is important about these things to me is that they form a basis for our ability to be able to relate to God. On the one hand, he is the Creator, he is God, he has a divine nature. His character and nature is of perfection, pristine in all of his majestic qualities and splendor. We share in none of these things. On the other hand, God created us to have a relationship with him. He loves us, John 3:16, and intends to spend eternity with us in his very presence, Revelation 21:3. Because of this, his original intent for man in the garden of Eden will be fulfilled through his program of redemption which rescues us from his judgment and takes us through a process that will ultimately remove all vestige of sin and rebellion from us. Those who have embraced him in faith will all be conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ, Romans 8:29. Having been made in God's likeness makes these things possible.
Thinking of the implications of being created in God's image and his intentions for us are certainly grounds for some "fascinating ruminating!"
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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