Tag: Discipleship

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.

Also in this series:

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Five Facts About Loving God – Jason DeRouchie (Desiring God)
With an echo of the call to love God with all, Moses opens Deuteronomy 10 by calling Israel to maintain radical God-centeredness (Deuteronomy 10:12–13). Yahweh is always to be the blazing center in his people’s solar system. He then notes that such wholehearted, life-encompassing allegiance to God was warranted from Israel because he created them and because he rescued them from Egyptian slavery (Deuteronomy 10:14–15). In light of these truths, Moses then applies the call to radical love for God into Israel’s everyday lives, and in the process, he reveals how far they were from God’s ideal. I see five significant points regarding love for God in these verses….

The Christian Traveller – Jeremy Walker (Reformation 21)
Looking about me, I was struck by the prominent ways and means in words and in deeds by which various of my fellow wanderers were proclaiming their personal identity and spiritual allegiance….  All of which fascinating tableau left me asking, “By what means should I, as a Christian traveller, communicate my personal identity and spiritual allegiance?”

What You Should Say After Every Week of Work – Trevin Wax
And like I do every week, I will whisper to myself as I walk out the door: “And God saw that it was good.”

9 Things You Should Know About Persecution of Christians in 2013 – Joe Carter (GC)
Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today. As we pray for the persecuted church, here are nine things you should know about the plight of believers around the globe….

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day of rest and prayer!

Designed to Image God

On By BrianIn Identity, PASSION Quotes

DiscipleHumans are designed to image or reflect God their Creator (Gen. 1:26-27).  Don’t let the subtlety of this escape you.  Our design as humans inherently requires something to image – God….  And when we don’t image him, by default we image ourselves and elevate ourselves as god.  This is the height of idolatry….  We humans fail to grasp that we are most human when we image God.  We vainly seek an image of our own to bear, hoping to project a self-image so captivating that others will love and accept us.
– Bill Clem in Disciple

I Am an Image-Bearer, Part 3

On By BrianIn Identity

Who am I? In the last two posts (Part 1 and Part 2), we said that we are image-bearers of God – made in his likeness, we are like God is several ways. Here are three more implications of being image-bearers of God:

First, I am a reflection of God. I am made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). An image is a reflection, a representation. I look in a mirror, and I see my image – it is a reflection of me. I take a picture of myself, and that picture is a reflection of me. In the same way, we are created to be pictures, representations, reflections of God. We are created to reflect God to others. In my thinking, I am to reflect God to others. In my relationships, I am to reflect God to others. In my work, I am to reflect God to others. In my rest, I am to reflect God to others. In my behavior, I am to reflect God to others. I am to point not to myself but to God. I am to live for his glory, not my own. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so I am to reflect the glory of God.

Second, I am accountable to God. God commanded Adam not to eat of a certain tree, and if Adam disobeyed there would be dire consequences (Genesis 2:16-17). He was accountable to God. And so are we. All of us will one day have to answer to God. How well did I use my mind? How well did I love God and people? How well did I work? How well did I rest? How well did I live uprightly? How well did I reflect God in my everyday life, instead of creating my own image for people to see?

Third, I am valuable to God. Yes, I am a creature made from the dust, but I am also made in God’s image which gives me great value, great dignity. I bear the Creator’s image. As one poster I remember from childhood said, “God don’t make no junk.” This is where I find my identity – not in what others think of me, not in my circumstances, not in my accomplishments or failures – but in what God thinks of me. He made me in his image, and so I have value. He made you in his image, so you have value. And so we ought to respect one another.

As I am to respect God, so I am to respect people made in God’s image. James 3 warns us about blessing God and then turning around and cursing people made in his image. When I curse, insult, belittle, and make fun of people, I do the same to God. How often have we cursed God? We must respect one another as image-bearers of God – regardless of behavior, political leanings, sexual orientation, color of skin, economic status, or whatever tempts you to belittle another person. Everyone is an image-bearer of God, and so we must respect one another. That doesn’t mean we will always approve of what others do – often we won’t. But we must treat people with respect because they are made in God’s image.

I Am an Image-Bearer, Part 2

On By BrianIn Identity1 Comment

Who am I? Yesterday, we said that we are image-bearers of God. We are made in his likeness. We are like God – made in his likeness as rational, relational, occupational, recreational, moral beings. That is who we are. And we ought to live like it. But we need to make an important clarification:

I am a rational being, but I am not the sum of my learning.
I am a relational being, but I am not the sum of my relationships.
I am an occupational being, but I am not the sum of my work.
I am a recreational being, but I am not the sum of my vacations and holidays.
I am a moral being, but I am not the sum of my good behavior.

My identity is found in being an image-bearer of God. My identity is found in God, not in my learning, relationships, work, rest, or behavior. Those are all applications or out-workings of my identity, but they are not my identity.

If I look for my identity in these out-workings, and these out-workings are good – I have a lot of degrees, and good family with good friends, and a good job, and some killer vacations, and really good behavior – I am tempted toward pride. I begin to think I am better than others. But no, I am a creature made from the dust. I am an image-bearer of God.

If I look for my identity in these out-workings, and these out-workings are bad – I am not well-educated, and my relationships are a wreck, and I a have a dead-end job (or just lost my job), and I’ve never had a real vacation, and my past is a wreckage of poor choices – I am tempted to despair or depression. I feel like a loser. I must be worthless compared to those who have succeeded in these areas. But no, I am a creature made from the dust to be an image-bearer of God. That is who I am.

My identity is found in God as an image-bearer, not in my circumstances, accomplishments, or failures.

I Am an Image-Bearer of God

On By BrianIn Identity

Who am I? Last week we said that we are creatures made by God and dependent upon God. We are also image-bearers of God. God made us in his image after his likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). That means that I am like God in certain ways:

• I am a rational being – God made me like him to think. Consider the thought that went into creating the world. And then God gives Adam and Eve the task of having dominion over it (Genesis 1:26). In one day, Adam names the animals (Genesis 2:19). Consider the thought required to do all of that. God made us to think like he does. And so we ought to think! We ought to use the minds God gave us. We ought to learn. We ought to think through our actions. We ought to think.

• I am a relational being – God made me like him to love. God is three persons in an eternal loving relationship with each other. God shows his love for Adam and Eve as he provides for their needs and enters into a relationship with them. And God made us to love as he does. The two great commands are to love God and love people. We are to live in a relationship with God and the people around us. And those relationships are to be governed by love.

• I am an occupational being – God made me like him to work. Again consider the work that went into creating the world. And then God gives Adam and Eve the job of having dominion over it (Genesis 1:26). He creates a garden and tells Adam to take care of it (Genesis 2:15). God made us to work like he does. Whether it is a job, the raising of our families, or the chores around the house, God made us to work.

• I am a recreational being – God made me like him to rest. After 6 days of creating, God rested on the seventh day. He looked at his creation, and proclaimed it good. He enjoyed the results of his work. And we too are called to rest, to enjoy the work of our hands, the work of our minds. Rest from our labors is a good thing. God created us to rest like he did.

• I am a moral being – God created me like him to live uprightly. God is righteous, holy, pure, good – without any taint of evil. And we are to be holy as he is holy (I Peter 1:15-16). God commanded Adam not to eat of a certain tree, and Adam was to obey (Genesis 2:16-17). And God has given us commands that we are to obey. God made us to live uprightly.

I am like God – made in his likeness as a rational, relational, occupational, recreational, moral being. That is who I am. And I ought to live like it.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Do People Bark? – John Starke (Gospel Coalition)
Christians base the dignity of a “person” on the imago Dei. Created in the image of God, humans have been given status and dignity above all other creatures in this world. We’ve been given the ability to make sense of the world and make something of it.

A Friend of Sinners and No Friend of Sin – Kevin DeYoung
The gospel–if we are talking about the true gospel–works through repentance and relationships. We need both. Jesus had relationships with sinners and tax collectors. And through those relationships what did he call them to do? He didn’t say call them to self-expression, or invite them to despise religious people, or summon them to eat, drink, and be merry (in our language: eat, drink, and be tolerant). He called them to repentance. One commentator says, “Jesus neither condoned sin, left people in their sin, nor communicated any disdain for sinners.”

The Loving Intolerance of God – Melissa Kruger (Gospel Coalition)
The cross demonstrates God’s character in all its complexity. It shows his love, kindness, and mercy united with his justice, holiness, and wrath. It perfectly demonstrates a God who surpasses understanding. The Lord is giving us a glimpse into the immensity of his love for us. The love of God is not a tolerant love. It is much better. It is a redemptive love.

What Makes A Full Atonement Full? – Mike Wittmer (Gospel Coalition)
The cross isn’t an act of love without penal substitution, because love is only love if it does something. If the cross isn’t necessary for God to forgive us, then what would be the point? If the cross is merely God expressing his solidarity with sinners, then why didn’t he simply use his outdoor voice and say, “Attention, people of Earth! I love you and I’m on your side!” The Father was silent when his Son begged for any other way, which proves that God believes the cross was necessary to defeat sin, death, and Satan.

Light Eternal, Shine in My Heart – Alcuin of York, 735-804 A.D. (via Trevin Wax)
Give me, O Lord, I ask You, firm faith, unwavering hope, perfect charity…

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our great God and Savior!