In His Image
Something that amazes me...
We are made in God’s infinite image.
I have “known” and believed that for most of my life. But I’ve rarely considered what it implies about who I am and why I’m here.
God is holy. We are often profane. He is omnipotent. Omniscient. We are dirty. Common. So how do we reconcile the two? How can a decidedly imperfect creature contain the image of a holy God?
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; —Genesis 1:26
We are created in His image — not like Him.
We are given eternal existence, which means that our souls do not cease. How can that be? Finite creatures who will live forever? What a paradox.
We are offered eternal life as a gift. God is eternal by nature.
“He has “set eternity in the human heart.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11
Because we are created in His image, there is something in us that longs for eternity.
What a thought! We are designed for unending communion with the Infinite One.
“For now we see in a mirror dimly…” — 1 Corinthians 13:12
Because of our finite bodies, we are incapable of grasping the reality of infinite. We go through life searching for understanding of this mystery.
From time to time, we get a glimpse - a minuscule understanding of something beyond us. Of the eternal God. Of our fallen nature. Some truth we discover, but can’t quite vocalize.
These excite us but leave us uneasy. We know we’ve tapped into something eternal, but we can’t quite grasp it.
As we make these discoveries, we share them with others - who are incapable of comprehending what we are trying to explain – because, like us, they are finite creatures who carry eternity in fragile bodies.
Each of these “holy moments” becomes the unseen building blocks for a faith that we can’t explain.
There is a part of us that longs for the infinite — because we were made for eternal communion with the Infinite One. But our union seems fragile. We feel that we are unable to sustain any lasting intimacy.
One day, after we shed the finite limitations of these bodies, we will finally embrace the fullness of God.
We will see Him as He is —1 John 3:2
We will know fully as we are fully known —1 Corinthians 13:12
But the Infinite can never be exhausted by the finite.
Even in eternity, we will endlessly discover Him. We will share the wonder of the four beings that spend eternity in His presence and never stop proclaiming his inexpressible holiness (Revelation 4:8).
And yet, we were created to be His image bearers. And while I don’t understand all that means, I intend to spend the rest of my life leaning into it.