 The Bible says that man was made in the image of God. It’s hard for most of us to grasp the meaning of this statement.
The first stumbling block is that God is Spirit and we are corporeal. How can we be in His image? How can one “look like” a being who is invisible?
The conundrum goes on from there. God is referred to in the Scriptures as masculine, so in whose image are females made?
Leaving aside physical attributes and only considering essence, we find that God is eternal and omnipresent – yet we are clearly fixed in time and space.
God is also utterly good – more than good, He is perfect. To my mind this is where imagination and metaphor completely break down in trying to see the family resemblance. Sin and darknessSince the fall of man, we have been separated from this God in whose image we were made. By the fall our original beauty was scarred; our pristine spirits marred. As a result we no longer see God face to face. We no longer walk with Him in the Garden. We know in our heart of hearts that we no longer embody the character of our numinous Creator.
When we humans become aware of, or at least experience the effects of this disunion, we deal with it in various ways. Empty, ashamed, despairing, we might turn away from God entirely (rebellion), or embrace a faith, be it secular or religious, that does not acknowledge the One True God (denial). Or, we might begin to repackage and redefine God to try and make Him more like us, and hence remove the sting of being separated from our Source. This is rationalization. And it is very human.
The Scripture quote in the title is about this confusion or murkiness of true sight. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then, face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
(I Corinthians 13:12)
Tellingly, this passage says that we see the things of God in a mirror (a looking glass), and darkly; that is, without light. One cannot see a true reflection without light. Nor can one see the subject itself through a mirror.
The darkness of sin clouds our vision, so when we try to look at God, what could we see but a reflection of our own imperfect humanity?
And people take this, wittingly or unwittingly, as a license to formulate a theology of God as a being who is also imperfect. One who, like us, is vacillating, petulant, incomplete, conflicted, angry, ______________ … you fill in the blank.
So, how do you see God?
Do you see God as eternal? Was God created or is He the Prime Mover of the universe?
Do you see God as all good? Or do think He bears some responsibility for the existence of evil?
Do you see God as unchanging (immutable)? Or do you see Him morphing over time; learning, like us, from the problems He tackles or from the sensitivity training of our modern age?
Do you see God as omnipotent? Or do you suspect that He is impotent in the face of evil, chaos, or the forces of evolution?
Do you see God as absolute? Or does He vacillate on the goals He sets, changing His rules at a whim?
Do you see God as infinite? Or do you believe there might something that exists beyond God?
Do you see God as One (a unity)? Or do you believe that God is mysteriously fragmented into trillions of pieces, of which our souls are part? Do you see God as love, or do you find Him distant, frightening, or uncaring?
Do you see God as personal? Or is God just a set of universal laws which we can leverage to achieve our own happiness and purpose? What the Bible says God Himself told us, through Moses, that His name is "I am who I am. … This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3:14-15) In Biblical times a name was not just an appellation, but an expression of the core nature of the bearer. God did not tell Moses, “I am becoming,” or “I was once,” or “I am whatever you believe I am.” His “I am” is final and resounds through the universe forever.
The apostle Paul also tells us that we can infer God’s nature by looking at His creation. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)
There are many ways for us to know the true nature of God, even though we ourselves are both finite and fallen. God has not left us in darkness and doubt. He gave us Christ, His only begotten son, God of God, Light of Light, who became enfleshed like us to show us the perfect image of God. And God gave us His promise that one day, we would again see Him and know Him clearly … as clearly as He sees and knows us. Read more about God and His attributes |
