As Christians, we claim that humans are made in God’s image. What does this mean? And if it’s true, why do humans do so many things that seem counter to who God is?
In Old Testament times, kings of other nations claimed to be the actual image of God, with the authority of a god. They had idols made of gods for worship.
God’s people were different. God never intended for the people to have kings, and when God finally relented and gave them kings like they asked, it was with the understanding that the kings were not God. Idols were not to be made (though the people had some trouble with that as we see on November 4.)
We don’t think about kings and God as being interchangeable these days, but we do deal with image and idols. In whose image do we shape our lives? God’s or a modified version of God’s image that fits how we want to live?
What and where are the idols we give our allegiance to before God?
During our series “In the Image of…” we look at these questions, and we look at the words “reflect, direct, serve, and grow.” We reflect God’s image. We direct others to God’s image. We serve in the image of Jesus, and we grow in God’s image.
How we understand in whose image we’re made determines how we live our lives. This fits well with our annual stewardship season. During stewardship season each of us is asked to consider how we steward all that we are: our time, our talents, and our finances. Does our stewardship reflect who we understand God to be? Join us as we explore this together.
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