In His Image | In The Image of God He Created Them

I’ve been considering this thought for several months now. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? And if the whole of humanity bears some aspect of his image, how am I then to live accordingly with others? My time of reflection left me considering the words of Paul to the Jewish believers in Rome from Romans 12:9-21 (NLT). He communicates in verses 9 and 10: “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” 

A few verses later, he drops a massive bomb on persecuted believers: “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them” (Romans 12:14, NLT). 

And then he extends it even more, a few verses later: “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God” (Romans 12:17-19, NLT). 

The concept that every person is created in the image of God inspires me to consider how I am to live in alignment with others. If in each of us, there’s some aspect of God’s image; then I should carefully consider how I think about, talk about, engage with, and participate with all of the bearers of his image. This idea convicts my spirit to the core. How I perceive others must be impacted by this truth.

I believe this truth is echoed in all of scripture and reverberates in each author’s writing. Repeatedly scripture beckons us to embrace each other in love with kindness and consideration, and to think of others highly. In the age of justified evil, I am impacted by the apostles’ response to persecution. Did those who walked in that day perceive the value of each individual? Paul’s expression towards opposition in 1 Corinthians 4:12-13 requires some consideration. “… We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us.“

These responses must come from an awareness and consideration that God cares deeply for every individual - even those who do not follow in his ways. I want to have that same awareness and let go of all judgment, accusation, and evil thoughts to fully care about the truth that God has imparted part of himself to all creation, and just because a person, or people group, doesn’t follow his leadership, doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit won’t convict them of their sin, or convict them of righteousness (John 16:8). Lord, help us all to see others as you do. Father. give us a spirit of prayer and of deep conviction when we engage with your creation.

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About the Author

Mike enjoys spending time with his wife and four kids. He loves Jesus, art, music, and poetry. He currently works as the Manager of Learning Technology Solutions for Los Angeles Pacific University and is passionate about adventuring outdoors.

In His Image | Reject the Orphan Lie!

I am reading a book series titled “The Abba Journey” with some friends from church. Abba is the word used for father by Jesus and Paul in the New Testament. The first pages of the first book cover the role of human fathers from different cultures throughout history.

Roman fathers focused on authority, and Hebrew fathers focused on relationship. The book next covers the concept of sonship in the eyes of our loving Heavenly Father, as taught by Jesus in the Gospels.

To quote the husband and wife authors, Kerry and Chiqui Wood, “Sons live in an atmosphere of love. Sons know who their father is, they know they have a home, and know they have an inheritance.” 

To paraphrase two points from the books, sons and daughters also have a spirit of belonging; a sense of being connected to home no matter how far away they may travel. And one of the many priceless gifts we receive from the Father God is the freedom of knowing we are loved unconditionally. We don’t have to do anything to be accepted and approved.

I was very fortunate. I had two parents who loved me, fed and clothed me, were involved in the process of my education, and worked hard to keep me safe and sound.

Although I was physically healthy and did well in school, my emotional state was another matter. A thread of narcissism ran through the psyche of a prominent person in my family of origin. 

For that person to feel secure, he/she had to always be right. And for that person to be right, everyone else had to be wrong. Narcissists tell the people they associate with, often and in great detail, when and how thoroughly they are wrong. It makes them feel better about themselves.

This leads us to the other side of the sonship coin …the orphan lie. I quote from the second book in the series, “Orphans live in an atmosphere of fear and bondage. They do not know who their father is. They feel they must achieve, perform, and prove themselves to be accepted.” 

“They feel they must earn their way into a family. They don’t know whether they have an inheritance. And since they think they don’t have an inheritance, they feel they must claw and grab for everything they can get.”

These statements deeply resonated with my personal type of orphan thinking. And until I read them, I hadn’t fully realized that I had lived a large portion of my emotional life as an orphan! 

Although I had accepted Christ into my life and knew I was a child of God, I had some urgent unfinished business from my childhood. I realized I had believed a damaging lie. As a child, I assumed the almost constant anger of that one family member was my fault. And it was an easy assumption to make. When this person announced yet again, I said or did something incorrectly, they were annoyed or angry with me. Then I transferred that lie to how I thought God saw me. Subconsciously I thought my defect of being chronically wrong would make God angry also, so I emotionally kept my distance from God. And when I sometimes couldn’t feel God near me, I subconsciously thought I was receiving the silent treatment for falling short of God’s standards. This technique was standard procedure in my family. 

A major house-cleaning was needed immediately. I was very motivated to pull out the lies about my identity from my thoughts, by the figurative root. And to persistently plant God’s truths from His word in my mind, about His character and about who I am in His family. I began to earnestly work at consciously receiving God’s unconditional love like medicine, and to purposely invite His presence into my thoughts as a conversation. So many pieces began to fall into place. 

I re-read the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The second book in the Abba Journey series points out the orphan thinking of the prodigal in Luke 15: 17-19: 

“When he finally came to his senses, He said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

It then highlights the truth of his father’s incredible love and forgiveness in Luke 15:20, & 22-23:

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His Father said to the servants ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now is found.’ So the party began.”

The book also points out the orphan thinking of the older son in Luke 15:28-30:

“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

And once again includes the truth of his father’s incredible love and faithfulness for him in Luke 15:31-32:

“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

I am so thankful that life lived in partnership with our Heavenly Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit is so very much better than we expect! And I speak from experience.

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About the Author

Sara has attended CitySalt Church since 2004, the year it was founded. She studied Journalism, wrote for her college newspaper, and is a member of Oregon Christian Writers. Sara also enjoys singing hymns with friends: “there is a sermon in every hymn waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.”

In His Image | Artist to Artist

Do you feel like a creative person? Did you know that everyone is creative? Yes, it’s true! I didn’t used to believe it, but I do now. And it even honors God when we exercise our creativity! Hear me out. 

I’ve written about this idea before here in the Salt Blog, but it’s been four years, so I’m excited to revisit it and unpack it some more. In her book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, Julia Cameron taught me a spiritual principle that changed the way I see the world. It’s not a Christian book per se, but she does quote the Bible in it, and I don’t think she’s wrong in this regard. 

Points 4 and 5 of her ten “Basic Principles” sum it up like this: 

4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves. 
5. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. 

As I read her book, I realized that if God created us, then He must be creative. Just look at His amazing artistry all around the world! There are thousands of waterfalls in the world, and no two of them look exactly alike. There are billions of people in the world, but all so different and beautiful! Even twins have differences that display His creativity. 

And if God created us in His image like the Bible says (see Genesis 1:27), then chances are, He made us creative, too. Sure, He didn’t make us exactly like Him. We are not omnipotent, omniscient, etc. But as I look at the amazing things people do, I think it’s true that He gave us the gift of creativity. There are so many different ways that people are creative! Paintings, sculptures, delicious food, wood crafts, novels, teacher lesson plans, photography, movies, toys, Powerpoint presentations, Lego creations, decorating, scrapbook pages, technological inventions… the list goes on. One time I took my students to a Welding & Fabrication Expo at Lane Community College, and a student there had made the most beautiful guitar out of metal by welding it in fanciful designs. I had no idea that was possible! They let the high school students try their hand at welding, and I had to tear the kids away from it when the bus came to take us back. One of them made a simple jewelry box. It wasn’t fancy, but he was so proud of it, and I believe he could already see the untapped possibilities of his own future art. 

Julia Cameron says “Those who speak in spiritual terms routinely refer to God as the creator but seldom see creator as the literal term for artist. I am suggesting you take the term creator quite literally. You are seeking to forge a creative alliance, artist-to-artist with the Great Creator.” Being creative is something we can do with God! 

Many of us have creative dreams. Some of them we’ve made public, some we keep secret, and some are so hidden within us that we don’t even admit them to ourselves. Or if we do admit them to ourselves, we don’t give ourselves permission to work on them. We convince ourselves that the mundane work of everyday life is more important. While it is important, and can even help us unlock our creativity (for example, I write more freely when my house is clean because I’m not distracted by the dirt and clutter), practicing our creativity is just as important. And beneficial to our soul. Why? Because when we practice being creative, we can grow closer to our Creator. 

Why do we grow closer to God when we practice being creative? Points 3 and 7 of Cameron’s Basic Principles help us understand this: 

3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator’s creativity within us and our lives. 
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God: good orderly direction. 

This sounds amazing to me. When we slow down our lives long enough to think about experiencing God more and becoming more like Him, how often do we think of practicing creativity as a way to do that? Of course, if we think the talent is from ourselves because we’re something “special,” we’ll miss the point. Our creativity is a gift from the only all-powerful, most Holy, amazingly creative God. But if we keep this in perspective, we may just experience more of Him when we allow ourselves to explore this gift. 

In what ways do you practice creativity? In what ways would you like to practice creativity more? What is your experience of God when you do this? 

Genesis 1:27 NIV
So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.

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About the Author

Jessie is a novice writer, with several books in various stages and a blog about travel and the journeys of women. She is very excited to be a part of the CitySalt blog team. She has been blessed by a few communities of Christian writers that have encouraged her dream. She lives with her sweet husband, Chris, their 5 funny kids, and 1 fluffy cat in Springfield. She loves hiking and other outdoor and indoor adventures with her family.

In His Image | Abba Father

Have you ever lost something so important and so valuable and then found an even better replacement? This happened to me when I was eleven. My parents decided to divorce and I moved away from my father and lived with my mom. During this time I felt so alone and broken. But God found me and showed me that He was my Father. I learned to love and respect Him for who He truly is. I found acceptance and adoration from Him. I turned to Him for approval. I spent all the time I could with Him. I went to church every opportunity I had and learned everything I could about Him. He filled this void in my life, this empty hole. He gave me purpose. He was my passion and I was made alive in Him. He replaced my earthly Father and I found all I needed in Him.

As I grew, my love for Him matured. I dedicated my life to Him and everything I did was for Him. I decided to go from a Christian school to a secular school because I wanted to share my love for Him with people that didn’t know Him. I went on mission trips every summer, joined the worship band and served in the youth group.

Our Father deserves our love and devotion. He poured out His life for us, died a gruesome, painful death, all so we could be a part of His family. It says in John 1 that if we believe and accept Him, then He gives us the right to become children of God and we are reborn. In Galatians 4:6 it describes how “God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts prompting us to call out Abba Father.” Abba is an Aramaic intimate term to characterize a personal relationship with God. Abba was a word used by children to call their father daddy or papa. It describes how we are dependent upon Him like little children. 

 Do you know God as your Father? Are you dependent on Him like a little child? Do you search for ways to serve Him and please Him? Have you grown to love Him and desire to honor Him? God calls us His children. He has adopted us into His family. How can we return the favor?

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About the Author

Mollie is recently married to her wonderful husband Dustin. She is a Wound Care RN at McKenzie Willamette Hospital. She enjoys being creative, getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

In His Image | Who Do You Say That I Am?

If a person in Pittsburg proclaims themself a pirate, it’s generally understood that they are a baseball fan. However, should they announce this association while traveling outside Pennsylvania, there’s bound to be someone in the group who wonders why this person pilfers cruise ships on the weekend.

Normally, labeling can be a very helpful way of keeping things organized. Everything in its place and easy to find. It seems a natural habit to want to put people (ourselves included) into organized, easy to define slots. We adopt labels for ourselves. We apply labels to others. But a person is not so easily defined. And definitions are often multitudinous in their variety. 

With two middle schoolers in my house, the subject of self-identification has been prevalent both directly and subconsciously. The matter of who they are is at once consuming and confusing. Throughout my life I’ve witnessed people drastically change their style of dress, their musical tastes, and who they hang out with all in an attempt to mark themselves as unique individuals and at the same time associate themselves with something recognizable. For many businesses, a distinguished and eye-catching brand is important to stay relevant in the consumers’ minds. Just as important is whether or not the company’s standards are congruent with the public’s view of that brand. Who we wish to be and how we are viewed by others can be two very different things.

The title of “Christian” has meant many things to different cultures throughout several generations since its inception. Many have donned the title “Christian” with the belief that with it would come an immediate understanding of who they were, what their beliefs were, or perhaps why they might be abstaining from some kind of indulgence. Instead of understanding, however, confusion often prevails as the term “Christian” is incorrectly interpreted and in some cases even incorrectly applied.

Due to the misconduct of some who have called themselves Christian, or even due to propaganda put forth by organizations wishing to hurt the name of Christ for their own ends, onlookers may have a very negative view of what a Christian is and they may assume a person happily calling themselves Christian may also happily embody those negative aspects.

A missionary I was once listening to explained that influential powers in the country to which he was ministering had manipulated the people to associate the term “Christian” with the most vile and unmentionable acts. The missionary went on to explain they do not call themselves Christians in that country because the people are completely opposed to interacting with them. Knowing this, the missionaries instead refer to themselves as “followers of Christ” and with that small change the people are often open to learning that a Christian is not at all what they've been led to believe.

Our differing definitions of labels can also be a two-edged sword. Even as Christians, we can apply labels that sadly may inspire us to write certain people off as “Unsavable” or “Unloveable.” Assigning people into these “convenient” slots can be very damaging to all parties involved.

In the Bible, Saul might have been considered “Unsavable” or “Unlovable” by the early Christians, as he persecuted them in violent and deadly ways. It’s an understatement to say Saul’s view of Christians in his time did not coincide with how they would’ve liked to be regarded. Miraculously, Saul’s perspective changed through direct divine intervention and with that change in perspective came a completely new identity (even a change in name) that would be undeniably evident to all who had once known him as Saul. Here God's intervention drastically redefined everyone's definition of the labels adopted and applied.

Does God regard our titles we have applied to ourselves or others?

Some people with great titles once brought a woman before Jesus. These people had a very accusatory label for her indeed. We don't know what Jesus began to write in the sand but we know all too well what Jesus said to these greatly titled men. 

“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

One by one these “prestigious” men walked away from Jesus.

“Where are your accusers?” Jesus asked the woman. “Does no one condemn you?”

“No, my Lord, they have gone.” The woman replied.

“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Ironically the only person there without sin was not there to throw stones. It might be strange to point this out but even though Jesus rebuked these accusers, he didn't throw stones at them either!

Acts 10:34-35 says “…God shows no partiality.” In the story we see Jesus unaffected by the pharisees’ prestige. He is unaffected by the label they are applying to the woman. He loves all parties involved in this situation regardless of their earthly labels. Instead Jesus was looking at their hearts as it says in 1Samuel 16:7

“…People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Peter 3:3-4 says “Let [your adornment] be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

In Matthew 7:16 Jesus warns the disciples about false prophets saying “...So then, you will know them by their fruits.” Obviously not everyone you meet has titled themselves a prophet but I beg the question: What was the fruit these religious leaders were producing in the accusation of the woman they brought before Jesus? It was certainly not a loving fruit. But when the only person there with the right and authority to not only accuse but judge and condemn, does none of these things but instead forgives and wipes the slate clean, that is a most amazing product of love! He didn't regard the woman as a harlot, as she had been labeled. He saw her heart and gave her a label far greater than the one her accusers had applied.

When God looks at our hearts what is He seeing? Matthew 6:21 says “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What is it you treasure? What fruit do you produce that is seen by those around you? Does that fruit concur with or contradict the misconceptions the world may have about the label you’ve adopted? Likewise, do the labels we apply to others help or inhibit the extension of God’s love through us to people He so values?

Perhaps, when it comes to people, the only truly useful label by which we should define ourselves and others is God’s only label for us. It’s the same label for Saul who persecuted Christians. It’s the same label for the woman thrown at Jesus in disgrace. It’s the same label for the Pharisees who brought her there. It’s the same label for you and everyone you meet:

So Loved.

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About the Author

Christopher has worked as a children’s pastor and youth leader for several years and has published countless humor articles under the pseudonym Professor Popinjay. He studied biblical history and child psychology through Burean University and various other educational institutions. He enjoys writing, art, and the history of invention. He lives with his amazing wife Jessie and their six bizarre children, one of whom is a cat..

In His Image | Who are We? The Roots of Our Identity

I remember a number of years ago when I left my habitual morning quiet time earlier than usual because I had so much to do that day. I walked up to the tractor port to get on the tractor and start some major mowing I needed to get done. I felt bad, and a little guilty, for ditching God so fast…and for something so mundane as mowing! You see, some years prior to that morning I had learned how important it was to spend time with God first thing in the morning. I felt bad about my priorities and also that, having messed up that morning, I would now have to wait until the next morning to do better. 

While mowing I suddenly had a revelation! Just because I left my quiet time didn’t mean I had left God or that He had left me. He was with me every bit as much on the tractor as he was with me in the quiet little office chair. Now I know what you’re thinking: that is the most obvious thing you’ve ever heard. And it seems that way to me nowadays too. But I became aware how compartmentalized I was with my spiritual life. God was only present when I asked Him to be present and when I was doing something “religious,” like sitting in a chair with my Bible open? Whaaat? God is THAT stingy with His presence?

Then the words of Michael W. Smith’s song came to mind, “This is the air I breathe, this is the air I breathe, Your holy presence living in me.” Those thoughts took me to Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” So if God breathed life into all mankind, and, last I checked, I was still breathing, He must be continuously breathing His life into me, and that would mean anywhere and everywhere I found myself, He is with me! This opened up a whole new freedom for me. This helped break down the compartmentalization I had lived with all my Christian life.

We read in Deuteronomy 31:8 that God told Moses, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

And then in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst” – midst meaning in your heart, in your lungs, in your belly, in your gut, in your head, in your feet…in short, all over inside us! We are completely filled with our amazing God.

Doesn’t that make you wonder about us, about our identity? Who are we then? Well, we all know we are not perfect and we are not all-powerful; we didn’t call the Creation into being (If you don’t know this, we might suggest a good psychiatrist for you.) But even in our imperfection and our finite abilities, to know that the Lord God has given us life and breath and lives with us always, must say to us that we are incredibly blessed by the One (who CAN do all things) choosing to live within us, filling us up with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

In Genesis 1:27 and 31, it reads “God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them …God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”

Certainly we all mess up and sin, and we need to look into submitting our unwise behaviors and thoughts to God so they can be transformed into the good things He intended, but how about starting from the awareness of our deepest self, our roots, which are very good and made in God’s image? With that perspective, sin loses its place as our primary concern. Our primary concerns then can be praising this amazingly gracious God who loves us so much as to fill us up with Him!

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About the Author

John lives in Pleasant Hill with his dog, Gunnar, and a multitude of guests who enjoy the peace and beauty of the Cascade foothills. With three children and three grandchildren all living in Oregon, he is continually blessed with their company and the good food that always accompanies their get-togethers!

In His Image | A New Ideal

Any other idealists out there? It’s at once both an amazing gift of seeing inspiring possibilities and an uncomfortable burden of realizing just how far that image is from reality. My idealism used to express itself in a sort of perfectionism. I recently went back and read a few journal entries from my young 20-something self, and I saw that perfectionistic worldview coming through full force in my past words. Revulsion and compassion together rose up as I read entry after entry of striving and pleading with the Lord to make the world (or make me) just so. Those words I read evoked a painful emotional state of trying to deal with the impossible gap between the brokenness I saw, and the way things “should be.” And at that time, I thought the perceived gap was the actual gap. Experience hadn’t yet taught me just how limited my own perception could be. I thought that everything that looked broken was broken, and that my painful and uncomfortable feelings were evidence that I needed to take action to change it all. I had a knee-jerk reaction to immediately try to “fix” things that looked askew. 

All this came rushing to front of mind last week when I read these words: “But the Father will send the Friend in my name to help you. The Friend is the Holy Spirit. He will teach you all things. He will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26 NIrV). These are among Jesus’ words to his disciples in the hours before his arrest. I know I’ve read this passage before, and it amazes me every time, but this time I couldn’t get over those words. All things? He will teach us all things? Strangely confusing and reassuring to an idealist. 

Later in the same passage, Jesus says more about this: “I will send the Friend to you from the Father. He is the Spirit of truth, who comes out from the Father. When the Friend comes to help you, he will be a witness about me” (John 15:26 NIrV). I wish I could go back and soothe my young self with these words. When I hear them now, I picture a Father who cherishes his beloved children and wants to give them everything they need, up to and including himself, his own Spirit. I picture a tender, honest Spirit who is alive in us, and opens our eyes to the amazing work that God is doing around us which might otherwise be hidden from our understanding. The Friend is not only working in us. The Friend is witnessing, testifying to us, within our very spirit, of the things Christ is doing in the world, and in our brothers and sisters. There’s grace for our imperfections, space to look at ourselves and others honestly in love. The perfectionistic compulsion for me to change things so that they can be acceptable is eased.

Which brings me to something I’ve been learning and relearning (and relearning) since that early time of striving. It’s God’s work, not mine. God will do it. The love we express in our relationships and service can be a powerful testimony of our God, but the redemption is God’s alone. God is at work and holds nothing back; the Father, Son, and Spirit move together in this mysterious dance of redemption and sanctification. The Friend, the Holy Spirit, is real and active, and I can trust the Friend to do sanctifying work in me and in those around me. Sometimes God does things in an order I don’t understand and it can be frustrating or painful. I realize now that I don’t know what the final picture, the “ideal,” really looks like for each person. This is something else that should remain in God’s hands, not mine. So, while I know I will be on this pendulous journey of trying too hard and trying not to try too hard probably until the day I die, I trust the Friend to help me grow. The Friend helps me trust the Father because my spirit glimpses what is hidden from my eyes - blooms of healing and growth and restoration all around me because of the inextinguishable life that God creates and recreates every moment. This promise is not an excuse to stop trying, to step away from the work God is doing through me. Rather it is relief and peace from striving - God takes responsibility for the redemptive work and its outcome. It is a burden too heavy and prideful and spirit-breaking for a human like me.

After Jesus promises the Holy Spirit is coming, he adds these words which seem a fitting conclusion, “I leave my peace with you. I give my peace to you. I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be troubled. And do not be afraid” (John 14:27 NIrV).

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About the Author

Kayla is is 37. She has been married to her husband, Joel, for 17 years and she homeschools their two energetic boys. She loves stories, being out in nature, meeting interesting people, and seeing others grow in their freedom in Christ.

In His Image | Connecting with God

Did our multiverse all start with a bang? Genesis 1 didn’t mention a loud noise, but one thing I know for sure - our Creator is my Heavenly Father. And for my Christian faith, that relationality means everything! We were created “in His image” and that produces divine and human connectivity - dynamic relationships with God and those around us.

Belief in general can be a bit flimsy, with so much we just don't yet know. Our conscious mind and earnest heart are constantly decoding our human experience as we attempt to make sense of ourselves and the world. How we do this definitely matters, because emotional bias can creep in and confuse our rational side.

In our constant quest as truth-seekers, I believe our efforts should center on our growing perception and relationship with Abba Father, and not as much on perfect scripture interpretation and liturgy. Jesus died to fulfill the law, and with that, our faith’s focus becomes the key. It’s not just faith, but faith in God.

As my former Faith Center Pastor Roy Hicks Jr. use to say, “It’s not religion, it’s relationship!”

So how can we focus on God the Father? And what about His Son? First let me say that in my opinion, our modern Christian experience tends to focus more on Jesus, and not so much on the Father (that can be ok - but I hope we’re not missing something). God is typically more the authority figure in our imagination, while Jesus is the compassionate friend who died for us. Does that make God seem less approachable?

Does He have a branding problem?

Well, maybe. In all our lives, authorities loom large. They likely have the most impact on us – for good and for bad. No doubt we have already assigned attributes (and made assumptions) about who God the Father is, taken from the sum-total of our experiences with our earthly authorities – again both good and bad.

Besides being created in God’s image, we share His spiritual DNA. 

We are not only connected, but we also share some attributes. Yes God is God, but doesn’t He practice the same fruits of the Spirit that we subscribe to? Let’s all imagine a perfect father/mother, with all the best traits. Now let’s rightfully assign those to our Heavenly Father.

And then we stumble.

In the midst of the idealizing in our minds, we remember times when we failed to experience those traits from our earthly authorities (now we’re cynical) or we’ve failed in some parenting attempts (we feel remorse and guilt).

But still we are connected. Like glue.

Those connections can be hard sometimes, but we can learn from them. And the better part is this: Our connections are useful comparisons, and they work in two directions. As we learn from God, we can be a better friend or a more in-tune spouse - and be more compassionate. And as we become better people, we can through each other, understand God more clearly and love Him more completely.

My favorite image of a good father comes from the bible’s prodigal son story. Daddy ran to his son and welcomed him with a kiss and embrace. He didn’t want his money back. He did not punish him. He wouldn’t even let him apologize! He just wanted his son in his life again. Is this our image of our God? It should be, and it certainly can be!

Maybe like the prodigal son, we just need to get past the trauma of running away, and now slow down and enjoy our moments with Him. Remind ourselves that Abba has our best human attributes too and to use what we share as talking points to get to know Him better. Reason with Him, ask questions and listen. And certainly, let Him be a part of our laughing and crying. And our adventuring. Be amazed at His creation and thank Him for it.

Get past fear. Put away shame. And calm our anxiety. Let’s lean into connectivity with Abba Father and be in relationship!

Luke 15:20-24 MSG
“When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a prize-winning heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here - given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.”

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About the Author

Terry is a man in constant motion to explore new horizons. He has a thirst for new places and faces, and a deep love for the natural world - with a weakness for waterfalls and sunsets. All of this venturing out helps to both ground and inspire him, because it opens him up to people, with their vast, collective array of experiences, outlooks and responses.

He finds all of this fascinating and sees that it has encouraged the growth of something crucial in his Christian development: empathy and compassion toward his brothers and sisters on this planet.

In His Image | Gender and the Image of God

Our New Blog Series, In His Image

How often do we discover that we've "put God in a box" by how we imagine him to look, act, sound or feel? The CitySalt team will be exploring how we conceptualize and encounter God and what that says about who we are, being made in his image. Join us in envisioning new perspectives of our multifaceted God.

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Genesis 1:26-27 (NRSV)
Then God said, ‘Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created humans in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

These words, on the opening pages of our Bibles, make a bold and unqualified statement about how human beings, and humanity as a whole, relates to God: we have been made in God’s own image! Theologians have debated for centuries the precise meaning of these words and how exactly human beings do and do not image God, but one thing is clear: these words confer upon each and every person a designation of elevated status and dignity in God’s creation. As a result, “Each human being must therefore be viewed with reverence and treated with due respect and care.”(1)

The image of God in every person opens up lines of communication and deeper understanding to us concerning the nature of God and humanity. The lines of communication go both ways. We learn about God by understanding one another as we are made in God’s image, and we learn about one another by understanding God in whose image we are made. Every person has a part of God in them for us to acknowledge, appreciate, and honor, and God has something of God’s own self to reveal to us through every unique person.

The Genesis text also makes it clear that females and males equally image God. Not only does that mean that women and men in God’s creation ought to be given equal honor, respect, and dignity, it also means that both sexes equally resemble God - they each reveal important pieces of who God is and what God is like. Although God in essence is beyond any gender, important aspects of God’s being, traits, personality and character are revealed through the being, traits, personality and character of women and men who are created in God’s image.

I have known these things to be true in theory, but for most of my adult life I’m sad (and a little embarrassed) to say that I’ve imagined God almost solely as a male. Even though the Bible and Christian tradition have given us a diversity of feminine terms, images, and metaphors by which to talk and think about God, I haven’t given these much thought. Over the past few years, with help from some amazing female theologians and writers, I’ve learned some of these images and metaphors. As a result, my imagination about and communication with God has grown and expanded in wonderful ways.

Much of the language that Scripture gives us to talk about and understand God is through metaphors. God is a rock (Deut. 32:4). God is a strong tower (Ps. 61:3). God is a sun (Ps. 84:11). God is a lion (Hosea 13:7-8). God is a potter (Is. 64:8). As with any metaphor, there are limits to the truth of metaphors that we use to talk and think about God. There are ways that God is like a rock, and ways that God is not like a rock. There are ways that God is like a lion, and ways that God is not like a lion. The power of these metaphors is not in that they communicate the fullness of who God is, but that they each may help to communicate certain qualities and characteristics of God to us. 

What I’ve come to realize is that although I use many metaphors and images to talk and think about God, I’ve never really considered using female images and metaphors until recently. As a result, I think I’ve missed or neglected significant parts of God’s personality, character, and actions. Not only that, but I’ve also missed or minimized the ways in which the women in my life teach me about who God is and what God does.

Here are three feminine images or metaphors for God in the Bible that I have recently found helpful for me to consider and contemplate. When I imagine God in these ways, I also connect with women I know who have been these for me or others, and I can better see and understand God through their lives.

1. God is a mother. Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” There is something special and wonderful about the way the mothers I know remember and care for their children. It’s a powerful truth for me to contemplate that God remembers me like a mother who remembers her children. I can trust God’s care and compassion just as (or even more than) I can trust the care and compassion of my mom and the way my children trust their mom. Wow!

2. God is a midwife. Isaiah 66:9-10 says, “‘Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?’ says the Lord. ‘Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?’ says your God.” I have never personally needed a midwife (surprise, surprise! ☺). However, I saw how my wife, Heather, was helped and supported through the birthing process by a midwife, and I find this to be a profound picture of God to meditate on at this point in life. There are new things that Heather and I want to bring into the world – desires that I think God has given us. God as a midwife comes alongside us in the mess and pain of bringing something new into the world, and She brings encouragement, guidance, and support through the whole process. 

3. God is a seamstress. In the Garden, God acts as a seamstress, making clothes for Adam and Eve from fig leaves to help cover their nakedness and shame.(2) In Psalm 139, the psalmist says to God, “You have knit me together in my mother’s womb.” These images of God as one who sews and knits reminds me of women in my life who have been skilled in these ways. Somehow, they have the patience and vision and touch to take threads and cloths and yarn and make something good out of them. They patch holes and make new things out of old pieces of material. These are all skills that I do not have, but I have known women who do. It comforts me to know God is like them. I like to think about how God is knitting the threads of my life together into something good even though I can’t see the full picture. The process is slow, detailed, and painstaking. Sometimes it results in something beautiful, sometimes it is more functional, but I can trust the skill of the Seamstress that it will be good in the end.

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1. David P. Gushee, The Sacredness of Human Life: Why an Ancient Biblical Vision is Key to the World’s Future (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 24.

2. I first came across this idea in Cole Arthur Riley, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories That Make Us (New York: Convergent, 2022), 14.

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About the Author

Aaron is a passionate seeker of God and truth, and he enjoys encouraging others in their own pursuits of the same. He especially likes to think about how God is at work in the most ordinary and mundane aspects of our existence. He loves going on adventures to new places with his wife, Heather, and four kids and his perfect day would involve an excellent cup of coffee (or two!), a hike to somewhere beautiful and serene, and some good conversation over a pint at a warm pub. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Portland Seminary and co-leads the CitySalt Kids’ Ministry along with his wife, Heather.