MADE IN HIS IMAGE—BUT WHAT AM I REFLECTING?

I heard a sermon from Sarah Roberts today about the difference between being made in the image of God and reflecting the image of God.

Genesis 1:26 says:

“Let us make man in our image.”

That means all of us. All humanity.

We were made in the image of God.

But Sarah said something that made me think: What we experience in our lives can give us a distorted view of what we are supposed to be reflecting—God!

It is the enemy’s job to capture our attention—to take our eyes and ears off God so that he can distract us and distort the image we project. If he can accomplish that, he can influence how we react to situations, circumstances, and people.

That made sense to me.

Shame tells us, Stay quiet. Don’t talk. Remember what you did. You are not good enough to be heard.

Hurt says, Protect yourself. Don’t let them in. How could they do that to you?

Anger says, Fire first! Show them who you are. How dare they!

Past trauma and our own feelings can shape what we reflect and how we respond to others. Distrust, judgment, envy, low self-esteem, and offense can all shift our attention away from who and what we were created to be and toward who we believe we need to become for the situation.

And just like that, our focus changes.

And so does our reflection.

Distorted imagery is not reserved for the people we call “sinners”—which, by the way, is everybody. It can also come from those of us who call ourselves believers.

Sometimes it may even show up more arrogantly in believers because we convince ourselves that we have the discernment, permission, righteousness, and even God’s approval to reflect an image of moral authority rather than His character.

I have been guilty of this.

For example, I don’t agree with or like our current administration. So, when I hear certain names or see certain faces, I can immediately reflect anger, bitterness, judgment, and disagreement with who they are and what they represent.

I don’t see the image of God when I look at them.

I see the personality and behavior they reflect.

I have done the same thing with people who have hurt me. My disappointment because someone didn’t meet my expectations has caused my reflection to become one of displeasure, judgment, resentment, and sometimes unforgiveness.

Sarah’s sermon today forced me to ask myself:

Where is the reflection of the image I was made in?

And when exactly do I get permission to take my eyes off God’s character—and my responsibility to reflect His character—and focus instead on how I feel about another person?

Whew!

Because when I am truly in the presence of God, I find it difficult to hold unforgiveness, bitterness, judgment, and hatred in my heart toward anyone. God’s presence is so strong that love, joy, compassion, warmth, grace, and forgiveness begin to take up the space.

So, if I am reflecting the opposite of those things, I have to ask myself:

Valerie, where did you move?

Because I am always telling God that I want to live in His presence.

So what is my problem?

The Word says that we will know them by their fruit.

Well, what fruit am I bearing when I am not reflecting the image of my Creator?

What fruit am I producing when I am distracted by my personal feelings, my wants, my hurt, and even my own sense of righteousness?

Where is my grace?

Yes, we are human, and our human emotions often drive our behavior.

No, God does not say that we should allow people to run over us. He does not say that people should not be held accountable for their behavior.

But I have to continually ask myself: Where am I progressing in my transformation, and where have I stalled because of my own stubbornness?

I am not responsible for someone else’s behavior, but I am surely accountable for my own.

I can forgive you and love you while also deciding that you no longer have access to me or my spirit.

Those things can exist together.

Perhaps the most jolting question is this:

When I look in the mirror, whose image do I see?

And maybe the even more pressing question is:

What reflection do I want to see?

The enemy is good at his job. His retirement plan is secure!

But at what point do I lay him off?

When do I fire him?

When do I finally give him his walking papers and tell him his services are no longer needed?

This is still a process for me.

Sometimes I hit the mark.

And sometimes I miss it completely.

But this message made me think deeply about the image I was created in and the image I reflect on a day-to-day basis.

What would this life look like if we truly saw all people as being made in the image of God?

How would we treat people if, when we looked at them, we saw God’s creation before we saw their behavior?

No matter what they reflect toward us, what do our spiritual eyes see?

We are made in the image of God to reflect the image of God so that we can represent the image of God.

God does not want us simply to know His character.

He wants us to reflect His character.

And every time we reflect the image of God, inch by inch, we allow God to occupy more territory in this world through us. We take dominion in the earth—not through arrogance, control, judgment, or self-righteousness, but by allowing His character to become visible through ours.

The dominion we establish must reflect God’s character, not our old wounds.

Not our hurt.

Not our bitterness.

Not our personal feelings.

Not our offenses.

Maybe that is part of what dying daily really means.

It is the daily shedding of old beliefs, old wounds, old reactions, and old behaviors so that we can truly reflect the image we were created to exhibit.

And to sum all of this up in plain language, I can repeat my sister’s favorite saying:

“It’s not about you, Boo!”

It’s about establishing the Kingdom of Heaven on earth by reflecting the character and image of GOD.

So, God, help me every day to reflect Your image.

When my feelings get loud, help me reflect You.

When my wounds get triggered, help me reflect You.

When people disappoint me, help me reflect You.

When I disagree, help me reflect You.

When I am hurt, angry, offended, or frustrated, help me reflect You.

Less of me and more of You, God.

Because being made in Your image was Your decision.

But reflecting Your image?

That is the daily decision I have to make.