Two Sundays ago, in our Origins sermon series, I preached on being made in the image of God from Genesis 1:26-28. If you didn’t get a chance, you can watch it here or listen to it on Spotify or iTunes.
The truth contained in this text is one of the most foundational in all the Bible because it directly impacts how we view ourselves and interact with every human being we meet.
One of the first things we see in these verses is that all people are made in the image of God. Male and female, we are made in the likeness of the Father, Son, and Spirit. We are similar, but not the same. Unlike any other part of God’s creation we alone are rational, relational, spiritual beings.
To be made in the image of God is significant because it means that all people have value and all people have vocation. We are called to reflect and represent God in our world.
Sin has messed all of that up. It has distorted the image of God. But Jesus has come to restore it (Colossians 1:15-20; 3:9-10).
Because of that, we have the opportunity, in a broken world, to play a part in seeing the restoration of the image of God take place not only at a personal level, but also at a relational and societal level. We can now reflect and represent God in a redeemed way.
The doctrine of the image of God is theological, but it is also practical. It has far-reaching implications for our daily living in how we view ourselves and how we engage others in community and culture. I mentioned a few in the sermon, but we could talk about this for hours! Even in talking fast on Sunday (sorry Pat!), I wasn’t able to say nearly all I wanted to about this important truth and how it impacts our lives and relationships.
So, over the next few weeks I am going to write on some additional implications. If you have thoughts or ideas about what some of these might be or questions about how this truth impacts life, let me know and I will try to include those as well.
Today I want to talk about encountering those in need. How can we reflect and represent God in a redeemed way when we encounter these neighbors?
As a church there are so many ways we have and are pressing into serving those in need around us. Whether that’s through serving during Hypothermia Week, going to the Lamb Center, seeking to care for new refugee neighbors, or many other things. I’m so grateful for our desire to be a merciful community to our community.
It’s not uncommon (and even increasing) in Northern VA and the DC Metro area to encounter someone in need asking for money or help in everyday moments of life. Just the other day Amy and the kids interacted with a family in need in the Target parking lot.
So let me ask—what happens in your head and heart when you see that person or are approached by him or her?
I know that my mind can race between ignoring, engaging, quickly giving a few dollars, or trying to have a meaningful conversation. But one of the main things I want to come to mind—but often doesn’t—is to see him or her as a person purposefully and wonderfully made in the image of God.
What would change if you and I saw that person as an image bearer and not an inconvenience? What would happen if we could see ourselves as people who now get to reflect and represent God to this person?
One thing might be to recognize that he or she is a real person with a real story, most likely marked by sin and suffering and sadness. A real person who, in God’s providence, is before us here and now.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to give money to every person who asks for it. But might it encourage us to take a little longer to try and see them and engage them as fellow humans making their way in a broken world?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is speaking to the ethics of the Kingdom of God. And he says to us: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7 ESV)
What is mercy? It is a loving response prompted by the helplessness of the one to whom the love is shown. Mercy has to do with relief. And the mercy that Jesus is talking about here meets people in their misery and seeks to alleviate their distress.
We know exactly what that means because it’s what God has done for us.
Titus 3:4–6- But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
God saw us and saved us. He saw us in our darkness and distress and brought relief by rescuing us from our sin and giving us what we did not deserve, but what we so desperately needed.
Now, we can go and do likewise.
See, we get to show mercy to those in need not because we have so much to offer. We show mercy to those in need because we were so in need and God poured out his mercy on us.
The reality is, I think we often struggle not with giving too much mercy but withholding mercy. And a core reason for this may be that we’ve not only forgotten the mercy we’ve received, but we don’t really see the person in front of us as a person.
Jesus fed the hungry masses because he had compassion on them. He had compassion on them because he saw them, people made in the image of God, in need.
I want to encourage us to see all people in the same way. I want us to keep striving to be a merciful community to our community because we see people as inherently valuable images of God, broken and in need of redemption and restoration.
You haven’t gotten this right all of the time. Neither have I. But there is grace and mercy and help for you and me.
Our good God is committed to making us more like his Son, renewing us in the image of our creator. So let’s keep stepping forward in repentance and faith, seeking to see the reality of being made in the image of God lived out in our lives and in the way we engage those around us, for the glory of God and good of others.
May we be a church community who goes into our world representing and reflecting our merciful God. If you have questions about this, or anything else, I’d love to hear from you at .
– Justin Pearson