I have always wondered what it meant to be created “in the image and likeness of God” (paraphrased from Genesis 1:27). In my younger, more naive years, I used to think it meant that we all looked like God physically, and thought and acted in the same way too! It didn’t help that the religion books used in my elementary (and even secondary) school instruction often depicted God as a bearded old man, floating among the clouds (sometimes it was just His head that was visible, sometimes He was shown in a funny robe). Actually, come to think of it, He looked kinda like Santa Claus without the red hat and robe, and kinda like Father Time too! (which I now know are both pagan symbols, sorry God XD)

Upon taking up FORMDEV during my college undergraduate years (and reinforced by Bible studies after I actually joined the community), the idea of being created in God’s “image and likeness” changed into something that might be a bit more accurate. During the time of the Bible’s writing (the time of Moses, and until even the time of Jesus), the career choice of a son would be severely limited to what his Father’s craft was. A stonecutter’s son would inevitably become a stonecutter; a carpenter’s son became a carpenter. Thus, the son became the “image and likeness” of his father, and while father and son tend to look alike physically, “image and likeness” pertained more to an unseen quality, an attribute passed down to the son from the father.

For a long time, this became my understanding of Genesis 1:27, and for all intents and purposes, it’s quite true. However, something was missing, something very important. I didn’t pay too much attention to it at first, as I always thought I had more important things to do other than pondering Bible texts (again, forgive me Father). Today though, I had a much needed epiphany. I was reading John 5:1-24 today (The Bible in a Year reading for May 16, from the “Our Daily Bread”) and I happened upon a beautiful verse; call it the missing piece to the puzzle. It goes:

“Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father is doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.’” (John 5:19)

There is, of course, a multitude of ways to read this particular verse, but it struck a familiar chord in me. What does it really mean to be created “in the image and likeness of God”? What attributes of God should we learn to practice in our lives, the way sons in ancient Israel learned and practiced attributes of their fathers?

And now I know the answer. All along it was Jesus Christ himself.

In order for us to truly be “in the image and likeness of God”, we should learn to follow in the example of Jesus, who lived following “what he sees his Father is doing”. In order for us to truly live Genesis 1:27, we must allow God to form us to take on the characters of His son, for Jesus followed and lived in his Father’s image and likeness (John 5:19). Galatians 5:22-24 (and a related verse in Ephesians 5:9) reveals some of the characters of Jesus, but more importantly, how to attain them.

So how do we attain them?

Simple! Just allow the Holy Spirit of God to work in you and to teach you. Just as how a young boy in ancient Israel would learn from his father the secrets of his father’s trade, so must we allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to teach us the “secrets” of living a righteous life. Romans 8:28-29 further cements this fact, telling us that if we live according to the purpose God has set for us, He Himself will conform us into the likeness of his Son, the likeness of God Himself. Gradually, just by living in the purpose God has set for us, we become transformed into more Christ like beings.

It’s amazing how the realities of God all fit together. When we were young, we were taught fragments of this reality, each a gem on its own. But seeing these little realities merge together and make perfect absolute sense (and from different testaments too), it’s just amazing! It comforts my spirit to see these little correspondences; it makes me feel at peace with my faith. I hope that, upon reading this simple reflection of mine, God’s reality amazed you as well, and I hope that you will continue to be amazed as you discover more of God’s realities.

For now, I urge you to take Genesis 1:27 into heart in the light of John 5:19, and ask God to truly form us into His image and likeness, holding on to the promise of Romans 8:28-29, into the character of His son, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed on this “Reflections” page, whether in the text, graphics, comments, or articles, are those of the respective authors and do not, by appearing on this page, necessarily reflect the views of FORMDEV nor of De La Salle University.

Today marks a very powerful, very significant event in human history. If you’re a Christian, you would know what today is. And yes, I know there are some who aren’t, and who might get turned off by this entry, but I really still wish to share this message with my friends and acquaintances, so please bear with me.

There’s this narrative that I really like to share with people who are interested or who question why I believe in Jesus Christ. It’s not a catch all defense or anything, I just find the narrative really really beautiful, and for me, it answers the question of why I believe in Christ really well. If you don’t mind, I’d like to share that narrative too, or at least the first half of it. I hope this would have an effect on you, reader, even if only a tiny little bit.

See, the story begins with justice and love, but mostly just love.

During the time of creation, God told Adam and Eve not to partake of the fruit of good or evil, or else they will die (Genesis 3:3). Going against the will of the Father is sin, and this statement in Genesis 3:3 sets the consequence of sin to be death (the Father’s will at that time was only for them not to eat of the fruit, going against that would warrant death). For those who know the continuation if this story, you would know that the consequence was put into effect when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, after the temptation of the serpent. They were sentenced to die when their time on Earth is up and they were banished from the garden of Eden (and in effect, from the presence of God, as while they were in the garden, they enjoyed God’s presence freely).

Whether this story is real or not, the point behind it is that the consequence of sin has been set to death, and not the physical kind of death, but the spiritual. Spiritual death means eternal separation from God (which, if you recall, happened to Adam and Eve when they were banished from the garden). Thus we see a demonstration of God being just to His word, and a precedent of sin being been set.

Now, we are all sinners; at one point in time, we have committed a sin, big or small. God and sin cannot co-exist together though (since God is all-good) , so it follows that we must be separated from God, and are doomed to be so. But you know what? God, in His infinite love, still wanted us to be with Him, even if we were sinners. He wanted us to enjoy His presence, to enjoy a life with Him that is devoid of sadness and pain. He could’ve easily thrown us away, with no way for redemption. He is God after all, the creator of everything. But still, He loved us so much that He wanted us to be with Him. God wanted us to be reconciled once again with Him and to enjoy His loving presence.

But what was God to do? He already said that the consequence of sin is death (a spiritual kind of death, which means eternal separation from Him, not just physical death). And since He is just, He has to follow the rule that He set. So what now?

Well, He made a way. And in doing so, He displayed His magnificent love for all of us.

He had His Son, who was one with Him, turn into a fashion of one like us. He had His Son take on the form of a sinner like us, frail and weak. He entered into human history; an unprecedented move of One who is beyond history. And when His time had come, He took His Son and had Him sacrificed. He carried a cross He didn’t have to carry, led to Calvary where He was to be crucified; an ordeal He didn’t have to go through. And on the sixth hour, with long thick nails affixing Him to the cross (a pain so severe, they had to invent the word “excruciating” just to define it), battered and broken, weak and humiliated, He breathed His last. The God of all creation, humiliated in front of sinful man, willingly dying in their hands for everyone to see.

And as He underwent all this, He took on all our sins, and He died with them. He did this to pay for the penalty of sin, the penalty of all our sins. He did this so we, the undeserving sinner, would not have to suffer the penalty of sin. He suffered the consequences of our sin for us, dying and disconnecting Himself from the Father in our steed. In doing so He became the perfect sacrifice.

And in doing so, He made a way. A way back to God. A way to be reconnected once again with God. A way to be with God once again. He didn’t have to do this, but he did so because He loved us so much.

So today, on Good Friday, let us remember this wonderful sacrifice He made on the cross. Let us take time from our busy schedules to thank Him for and to remember what He did for us on this day. And let us eagerly await His return, when He comes full circle, on Easter, when He demonstrated His glorious triumph over death, granting us access to eternal life with Him and the Father.

Amen.

 

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed on this “Reflections” page, whether in the text, graphics, comments, or articles, are those of the respective authors and do not, by appearing on this page, necessarily reflect the views of FORMDEV nor of De La Salle University.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

- Romans 5:3-5

I’m lost!

I’m sure this may have happened to anyone. You are about to go somewhere but you don’t have a map or anything to know if you are really going the right way. You have no idea where you are. Maybe panic will set in when you are feeling hopelessly lost. You can eventually go looking around and, maybe by some luck, get to your destination or meet someone that you can ask for directions.

Sometimes life is like this. For me, everyday may be a struggle because even I myself feel that I am lost in my life. I am reminded by this because during our last bible study, someone asked what if you just relied on your own strengths and not on God. This may be applicable to one’s life and it has made me think of what I may be doing with mine.

Just as my story on being lost, we may rely solely on ourselves especially when we know we can do something about it without the help of anyone. We are proud of ourselves when everything that’s happening around us is just fine but there will be a time when we did all that we could but we just can’t make things right. We may ask help from people like our friends or family but even they cannot help us. As was discussed in our bible study, when there are trials or tasks that are seemingly impossible, only then would we rely on God. Someone in our bible study reasoned out that isn’t all that we’re doing is for God? But then, there are times when we do things and our minds are not set on God.

For me, when I have my quiet time, I talk with God, usually, about my problems and when I don’t really know what to do with them. When we are lost in our life, we may be feeling despair and think we cannot do anything, feeling utterly helpless. After talking with God about my problems, I feel an inner peace within me when I have trusted in him to help me carry my burdens and I don’t forget to thank him for all he has done for me, even for the simple things like being able to look forward to a new day after a very hectic day, like for example yesterday or the past weeks.

So just trust in God and let him be the light in the darkness that will guide you in your journey that is called life.

 

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed on this “Reflections” page, whether in the text, graphics, comments, or articles, are those of the respective authors and do not, by appearing on this page, necessarily reflect the views of FORMDEV nor of De La Salle University.

“The LORD is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life — of whom shall I be afraid?”

- Psalms 27:1