Imago Dei

What does it mean to be human? What makes us special?

The answer is, for those who can speak Latin: “Imago Dei”, or for the mono-linguists among us, “The Image of God”. This is a big deal in Christians, and it has its grounding in Genesis 1, verses 26-27:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them”

Therefore, every person is an image bearer of God, and has value. It’s not hard to see how Jesus’ teaching of love of neighbour and love of enemy dovetails beautifully into what God had declared from the beginning; that all are created in the image of God.

May we as a church see the image of God in all people, especially those in whom it is hard to see, and may we love them as we love ourselves!

Featured image: from 'The Creation of Adam' by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City