“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” English proverb. This saying has been used to express the view that children take the traits of their parents. Either they look like their parents, behave like their parents or do the things their parents do.
We are made in the image of God, the Creator. He calls us to exhibit qualities similar to the ones He has. To have the same character as He does. He says in the Scriptures that we should be holy, perfect, loving, kind, just, generous, forgiving just as He is.
I was thinking about this the other day and it occurred to me how our bodies have some qualities that are similar to those of the Creator. Listen to this, I see the following similarities:
- The Creator or God reveals Himself to us human beings in three ways in what is described in Christianity as the Holy Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Similarly, like I explained in Episode 2, I think our bodies can be viewed in three levels: the Outer body, the inner body and the most inner(invisible) body.
- Our subconscious mind is always at work just like God is always at work as Scripture says. In John 5:17 when Jesus was questioned about working during the Sabbath, he responded by saying his Father is always working. In Psalm 121:3-4 Scripture describes God by saying that He never slumbers or sleeps.
- Our souls and spirits are invisible and can exist eternally just as God does.
There is a story of a young man who was a spitting image of his father (for purposes of this story I will call him Tim).Tim had only come to know his father (Jones) when he was in his thirties. All along, he grew up without the knowledge of his father. You see, his father and mother (Tina) had met in the 70s, when his father was a young man. Jones had a job in Tina’s district which was very far from his own village. He usually would travel two days on a bus to get to his job from his home village whenever he travelled. Jones worked in that district for two years. Afterwards he was transferred back to a position close to his own village. This was back in the 70s when the means of communication were not as fluid as it is today.
Once the Jones moved back to his village, he lost touch with Tina whom he had befriended in the district. Unbeknownst to Jones, Tina had become pregnant towards the end of his posting there. With time, Jonnes settled in his home village, got married and raised a beautiful family.
Fast forward, 30 years later, Tina got really ill. She was dying and felt she could not bear the burden of not revealing the identity of Tim’s father. She mentioned to Tim where his father was from. That she had tried to locate him when Tim was born to no avail. Then she later discovered that he had got married and she chose not to reveal that he had a son. She decided to raise Tim on her own. Tim was so excited to learn that he had a father and the more he thought about it, the more excited he got. He decided to travel to his father’s village to locate him.
When he arrived at the village shopping centre, heads were turning and people were whispering: “who is this who looks just like a younger Jones?” Tim approached one of the elderly gentlemen who was sipping some hot tea as he listened to the days news on the radio that was propped on a stone beside him. The elderly gentleman looked like he had been in the village for long and would know Tim’s father. Indeed once Tim asked after his father Jones, the elderly gentleman knew him as sure as day. He even added “you look just like him, a younger version of Jones, no you laugh like him too!” Tim was directed to Jones home. He arrived, and Jones was shocked. There was no denying, the young man looked just like him. He had some explanation to give to his family (but that is a story for some other time).
The following day, Jones gave the young man some of his clothes to wear since he had not brought a change of clothes. Tim was seated outside the house thinking about this exciting discovery and meeting with his father. He had his back to the nearby path where one of Jones’ neighbours was passing. She immediately started talking to Tim as though he was Jones. Tim did not respond but turned to look at her, then she realized it was not Jones. She apologized and went on her way. However, she noticed the uncanny resemblance and how it was made even more so by Tim wearing Jones’ clothes. Indeed, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Like Tim who resembled his father, we are indeed children of the Creator and we bear a striking resemblance to Him. We owe our existence to Him and He sustains us.
Scripture in Colossians 1:15 describes Jesus as the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. Jesus had a conversation in John 14 with Philip, one of his disciples, who asked him to show them the Father. Jesus told him, “have I been with you all this time Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”
There is a Scripture where Jesus says we are gods. This is John 10:34 where Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6. Scholars say that the Hebrew word translated in these verses is Elohim. The word “gods” in this Psalm seems to have been used to refer to judges, magistrates, rulers and other people in positions of authority. Jesus in John 10 was essentially telling the Pharisees who questioned him, the if human beings could semantically be referred to as ‘gods’ how much more the one who was sent by the Creator? Similar use of this word is in Exodus 7:1 where God tells Moses “I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh”. Meaning Moses as a messenger was speaking God’s word and would be His representative before Pharaoh. Psalm 82:6-7 says “I say, ‘you are gods; you are all children of the Most High. But you will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.” Those who exercise authority in one way or another in this world can be seen as gods, however this authority has been delegated to them by the Most High. They should exercise authority knowing that they are mortal and they ultimately have to give an account of how they used the authority.
I should be careful to sound a warning here. We should be like God but not God. We should embody and exhibit His qualities and characteristics but not assume or take His position. We should hold firm to the saying let man be man and God be God. Being a law unto ourselves is the highest form of pride in my view. As the saying goes, pride comes before a fall, if we set ourselves as god, then we will definitely descend into a chaotic life. Harmony therefore is found in the balance of being like God but not being God.
The conclusion is this. We are made in the image of the Creator. Jesus is the image of the invisible Creator. He set a good example of how we should live, how we should treat each other. For us to live inspired harmonious lives, we need to emulate and follow the teachings of Jesus. Which in essence will ensure we are in harmony with the image of the Creator.
How do we set ourselves as god or against the image of the Creator?
