Such a powerful truth.
As humans we have a mind, heart, body and spirit that is intricately designed in the image of the God: the artist of all artists, the scientist who invented order, logic and predictability, the bioengineer of the three billion proteins placed in perfect patterns to create human DNA, and chemist of stars. Those are just a few things He has done. That same God has placed His signature reflection on us and claimed us as the pinnacle of His creation.
Made in His image. What is the impact of those words? Through history, this understanding has fueled the abolition of slavery, literacy training, hospitals, orphan care, food for the hungry, prisoner care, war zone first aid and disaster relief programs. These movements overhauled society so deeply that we now have a hard time imagining a different life. Mountains were moved because someone saw people through the eyes of the artist and took a step to reach out toward them.
What about today? How does the knowledge that we are image bearers impact our daily choices? What if we just examine one aspect of our creation, the body? Do we think about our body as a burden or as incredible work of the Artist? When God made our body he said it was VERY GOOD, and even though life happens and our bodies break down at times, it is like a Leonardo DaVinci painting that has accumulated wear and tear over the years. The piece has not lost its value because still contains the artist’s signature. When the value of the painting really sinks in then we take the time to cherish and protect it.
What if we stopped criticizing our body long enough to list what it does right? Walk, breathe, talk, smile, eat, cry, sleep, dance, climb, bike, swim, crawl, laugh, smell, hear, taste, touch… What if we looked in the mirror every morning and saw what we are thankful for. Yes, this side of heaven our body will still have flaws, but it is still an amazing creation that we take care of it because it is fearfully and wonderfully made. Looking through the eyes of the artist will challenge us to change our thinking.
Pop culture surrounds us with a different lens to look through. This lens values only what is popular because popular can be made into a commodity for personal gain. It tells us that human bodies have a value gradient and so you have to work from a place of non value and strive towards value. There is even commodification by attaching a dollar value to your social media platforms dependent on likes and follows. While looking through the eyes of the artist inspires us to care for and nourish our body because it has intrinsic value—pop culture will tell us that our body appearance, performance or fashion sense will earn us value. Here is the thing, even seven billion likes or dislikes cannot discredit our Creator’s stamp of value. It cannot erase the fact that he placed His signature on us.
The lens we choose to look through has an enormous impact on how we think, talk and treat ourselves and others.
It changes how we teach our children about their body: is it something to criticize and be ashamed of or is it something good that we protect and care for?
It changes how we treat others: are we measuring, using, creating commodities out of people or do we care for and protect their value and dignity as fellow image bearers?
It changes how we teach our children about body processes: is it with fear, shame and silence or do we teach them with a sense of awe that inspires them to value, protect and ask us questions?
It changes how we teach my children to interact in the digital world: do we let them consume demeaning and dehumanizing material, or do we step in and show them by example and instruction how we can use filters to make sure we guard our brain to pursue respectful, loving relationships in real life?
This is just a sliver of the iceberg tip. What else does it change?
We are made in the image of God and He described his creation as VERY GOOD, fearfully and wonderfully made. That is an exciting foundation to be standing on. If we really understand that we are image bearers, it changes how we talk about and treat ourselves. If we understand that our neighbours and enemies are also image bearers, it is world changing one step at a time.
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