I Am a Distorted Image-Bearer

On By BrianIn Identity

Who am I? God made us in his image, after his likeness. God made us like him to think, to love, to work, to rest, to live morally upright. But then came the Fall. Adam and Eve sinned. And we all became distorted image-bearers. The likeness became distorted.

  • God made us rational beings to think like him, but now we don’t think rightly. The devil promised Eve that the fruit would make her wise, but it made her and all of us fools. Our think has become futile; our understanding has become darkened (Romans 1:21-22, Ephesians 4:17-18). Our thinking is distorted by sin.
  • God made us relational beings to love like him, but now we don’t love rightly. Instead of taking responsibility for his sin, Adam blames God and Eve – hardly the height of love. Jesus says that if we love him, we will obey his commands. Adam failed to love by disobeying God, and so it continues in each of us to this day. Not only do we fail to love, but our relationships are broken. We are alienated from God by our sin (Colossians 1:21). And our human relationships are often characterized by strife. We see broken relationships all around us. Our love has been distorted by sin.
  • God made us occupational beings to work like him, but now we don’t work rightly. Not only has our work been frustrated by the Fall, but we also have become lazy. It may show itself in our jobs, or are chores around the home, or in our relationships, or in our church ministry, or in any number of other places. We struggle with sloth. Our work has been distorted by sin.
  • God made us recreational beings to rest like him, but now we either refuse to rest or live to rest. The proper balance of work and rest has been distorted. Some are workaholics. Others live for the weekend. Either way, we have fallen from what God intended. Our rest has been distorted by sin.
  • God made us moral beings to live uprightly like him, but now we live in sin. We miss the mark of righteousness. Our attitudes, our thoughts, our desires, our words, our actions are all marked by sin.

We are not like God as he made us to be. We have become distorted image-bearers. Tomorrow, we will explore this further before considering God’s incredible plan of rescue.

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