In the Image of God

We are called to be people of mercy and to regard others as fellow human beings, created in God's image - and if we recognize that every person, every life, is a precious creation of God, it will shape the way we view them and how we act.  Remember the words of Micah 6:8:
8He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

We believe that our lives are in God's hands and we can acknowledge that we were wired in a certain way. Because we were each created in the image of God, we have been given the capacity to know and love Jesus.  Not all will make that choice to follow Christ, but Jesus gives the invitation to follow Him.   We are conduits of the mercy of God, and if we recognize that all bear His image, then we can begin to view others through His eyes, we can reach beyond the imperfections or the differences and extend mercy to all.

In Genesis 1, we see a passage of Scripture that reinforces the notion that every human being bears the image of God:
26Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

This week, we've been touching on some topics relative to how we view other people, especially those with whom we disagree.  I highlighted some of Dr. King's comments on loving our "enemies" and I shared about Ravi Zacharias and his visit to the Mormon Tabernacle over the weekend and his willingness to speak to those who have a different theological perspective than he.

Keeping with that thread, there is a new initiative, or movement, that has begun, and it was started by some rather high-profile Christian leaders with the intent of reinforcing the notion that all people were created in the image of God, no matter what biological characteristics they exhibit or lifestyle or other choices that they might make. It's called "Imago Dei", and it was formed by Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Jim Daly of Focus on the Family,  "The Bible" miniseries producers Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel and the Liberty University Law School, and James Robison of "Life Today".

Sarah Pulliam Bailey has an explanatory piece on the ReligionNews.com website.

In it, Rodriguez is quoted as saying that, “If we had the image of God in mind for every human being, we could change the world...I want Christians to not be known for what we oppose but for what we propose.”

The campaign states, “For the image of God exists in all human beings: black and white; rich and poor; straight and gay; conservative and liberal; victim and perpetrator; citizen and undocumented; believer and unbeliever."

The biblical emphasis of Imago Dei stems from Genesis, where God said he would make mankind in his own image. Evangelicals have signed similar kinds of statements in the past, but this campaign is more focused and simple, said Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family.

Stanton is quoted as saying, “If someone says something out of line, someone else can say, ‘Hey remember this, how you signed it?’  Each one of us are image bearers in the sense that each one of us bear the image of God that others don’t.”

Rodriguez and Daly were also part of that movement of religious leaders that created the Manhattan Declaration, which emphasized upholding the sanctity of life, affirming traditional marriage, and emphasizing religious liberty.   Bailey points out that the document included a section on the idea that humans bear the image of God.

The website, ImagoDeiCampaign.org, states that By signing up for the Imago Dei Campaign, you are committed to changing the world by recognizing that we are all made in the image of God, without exception.

I like this section from the website.  It says:

What do Christians do?

This campaign will enable us to answer with the following:

We love

We forgive

We turn the other

We bless our enemies

We walk in integrity

We live abundantly

We quench the thirst

We clothe the naked

We feed the hungry

We welcome the stranger

We preach in and out of season

We worship in spirit and truth

We shine the light

We do justice

We love mercy

We walk humbly before God

We change the world!

This new initiative can serve to remind us that we have been placed on this earth with a call to reflect God's character.  If we do not walk in love, then our hearts are not in line with the attitude that God has ordained for us to have.   Love is the starting point - receiving the love of God and devoting our lives to adoring and serving Him.  And, as we seek to walk in love, then He helps us to place the needs of other people above our own.   Even those with whom we disagree can be drawn to the presence of the risen Christ in us as we love.

And, even though everyone is created in the image of God, none of us are perfect; but we are called to love in spite of our imperfections and the flaws of others.   This campaign is not advocating the toleration of sin, rather it is challenging all of us to share our lives with other people, no matter their political perspective, their social status, or their lifestyle choices.   We are called to lift up Jesus by the way we love!