What does it mean that we are made in the image of God?

You have probably heard someone mention that “Man is made in God’s image”. But what does this really mean? You have also probably heard that God is spirit. If God is spirit, without physical form, how can we be made in his image? That’s what we’re going to look into today.

So what does it mean to be made in the image of God? What it means is that we (mankind) are like God, and represent him. Let me give you an example of what this means.

Let’s say that in your bedroom, on the wall above your desk is a flawless picture of you. This picture is truly magnificent. You have a great big smile on your face, you have no potato chip crumbs on your t-shirt, and it was taken when you were just eleven years old, before the acne came in and destroyed your mother’s masterpiece. Now, this photo is important to you, but why? All it really is is a piece of special paper with ink on it. I mean, what’s the big deal? It’s important to you because it represents you. This photo is a copy of yourself. It’s not identical, you are three-dimensional and this two-dimensions, but it still represents you.

That’s who we are. We are God’s image. His “Photograph” if you will. In Genesis 1:26 God says: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”. We are an incomplete copy of God. However, this answer raises our big question: how can we be an image of something that can’t be seen? To answer that let’s dive a little deeper.

God is not part of our world of dimensions and rules, of light and darkness. No, he created this world and all the rules in it for us. He did not trap himself in such rules. He is part of something much bigger, something we cannot understand, but we are still made in his image. Not in physical attributes but in our abilities.

Humans can hear, see, talk, and feel emotions. In the Bible it says that God does those things too. We also have the ability to make decisions, as well as a conscience to judge the decisions we and others can make and have made. Our conscience comes from God’s knowledge of right and wrong, and God too makes decisions. We are creative, and God himself created this whole universe. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian author, once said that “Art is a reflection of God’s creativity, an evidence that we are made in the image of God.” So you see, we are still made in God’s image.

Now why is this all significant? First off, our being made in God’s image displays his love for us. When you create a piece of art, or spend time writing a poem or book, you feel attached to it, you commit a part of you into the work and love it. When God creates something, he loves it, and God created us. He is not a God who created the world and left it be. No, he helps and leads his followers every day!

Now, the fact that we are made in God’s image provides another truth we must face. Let’s go back to the analogy of the photograph in your bedroom. Let’s say you go out to buy some potato chips and acne-treatment cream one day and when you come back home, the beautiful picture of you has been torn up and thrown around the room. How would you feel? Outraged of course! Offended! Obviously whoever did this doesn’t like you! You would now feel frustrated with whoever tore up your photograph.

God feels the same way when we do something bad to others, or ourselves. We are doing whatever bad thing we are doing to an image of God! This is why the idea that you can do whatever you want as long as it does not hurt others is flawed. Even if the only person you are hurting is yourself, you are a representation of God. Next time you consider doing something you know is wrong, whether to others or yourself, consider who you represent.

There is another reason why the fact that we are made in God’s image is significant. This is that we can know that we have a way of telling right from wrong. When someone steals, murders or commits any crime, you know that it is wrong. This is the beauty of who God is. He not only is a perfect judge of right and wrong, he also gives us a way to tell when we or others are doing something against his will. This way we can help ourselves and others stay close to God’s will.

So remember that how we treat those around us and ourselves reflects he who we are made in the image of. Remember that each life has dignity, as we were all made in the image of God. He made us all in his image with love. He watches over us with love and he asks us to treat each other with love. Consider what your life would look life if you loved like God loves? The more God is recognizable in us, the better we are as images of God.