The Foundation of Imago Dei

People often think they know what words mean, and they might. Until they have to teach them to someone else. I had this experience when I came to Genesis 1:26-27. 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

 I’ve discussed it with adults before but this time I had to teach it to children. And children who don’t understand or speak English as their first language at that. So I pondered the meaning for days and how I could teach this important verse in a way they could understand. And I think I found a way.

Every week we take a selfie. And I ask each person, "is this you? Is this so-and-so?"

At first they said “yes!” Then I explained, “no, it’s not you. It’s only a picture of you. It shows me what you look like but it’s not you. See, your face is different now than in the photo. It only shows me you at one point in time.” Now they are catching on.

Well, in the same way, we are not God. But he made us in his image meaning that we display a picture of him to the world.  We are not like God physically, but in other ways, yes.

God reasons. So can we.

God shows compassion. So can we.

God creates. So can we.

God displays emotion. So can we.

God loves and gives. So can we.

God helps. So can we.

God protects. So can we.

God gives out justice. So can we.

 
You noticed that God did not just create Adam to embody all these characteristics. All these together make up God’s whole heart. But Adam was just half of God’s heart, and Adam represents males. Then God created Eve. By herself Eve is just a half of God’s heart as well. She represents the females. Then God established marriage in the very beginning. He said the male and female are one flesh in marriage.

 Now let’s categorize men and women in general and with their mostly dominant traits. I know that women can have masculine energy and men can have feminine energy and some characteristics overlap in each gender. I also know that some men don’t embody these normal masculine traits and women the same. I’m categorizing them, though, according to what their natural dominant traits are.

Men show God’s masculine qualities in:

~ strength

~ leadership

~ sacrifice

~ courage

 
Women show God’s feminine qualities in:

~ compassion and comfort

~ gentleness and nurture

~ faithful love

~ creativity

~ wisdom

 

Now let’s look at how they work together.

*Strength joins tenderness.

*Leadership joins wisdom.

*Protection joins nurture.

*Justice joins mercy.

Amazing, right?! Thanks, Lord! God's creation is the best.  

Males show some parts of God’s heart, like strength, courage/bravery. Females show other parts like kindness, love, and tenderness. When they work together, we can see more of what God is like – his full heart. 

God is: 
- strong and just
- gentle and merciful and caring
-wise and creative
-patient and powerful

When a man and woman gets married, each has half of God’s heart. When united, they create a full heart of God. And in this way God’s heart can be displayed to the next generation because each gender is created to display parts of God.

This concept probably is one of the most important to explain clearly to children, but yet it is completely pushed aside. Curriculums for Sunday schools don't teach it, parents don't teach it, and neither do books. 

Yes, authors write books for children about what it means to be made in God's image, but they all treat boys and girls equally while emphasizing universal qualities like love, kindness, creativity, respect, and uniqueness. The core message teaches that reflecting God's image is about how you act, treat others, and value yourself - not your gender. 

Now there is truth to this. But is it the whole truth? 

No. 

Therefore, it's a lie because it's withholding some truth. And people wonder why the world is a mess. 

Satan is not against this kind of teaching. It's just enough truth to make Christians think "yes, this is a good book to teach my kids about how important they are to God." 

I'm not saying that being made in God's image doesn't include the things listed. Absolutely. And because every single person bears the image of God, he is absolutely precious and valued just because he's a human made in God's image. 

But I'm not talking about value or uniqueness of a person. 

I'm talking about the withholding of full truth from children who grow up confused about who they are, insecure with the way God made them, and turn to people who feed them lies because it affirms their inner feelings. 

How's this kind of teaching working out? 

Horrible. 

Because parents have not taught their kids that God created males and females with their own specialties and uniqueness and that each bears a part of God's heart, God's original plan has been destroyed. 

Everyone is equal in the way that we each are made in God's image. 

Everyone is equal in the way that we are each valuable and precious to God. 

Everyone is equal in the way that Jesus offers salvation to each. 

But men and women are not equal in body or roles. 

Men can do some things way better than women. 

Women can do some things way better than men. 

Women can probably do almost all of the same things men can do. 

But that doesn't mean they should. 

Men can probably do almost all of the same things women can do. 

But that doesn't mean they should. 

By teaching this lie that boys and girls are equal, by muddying the distinct roles God planned, it's no wonder we have women acting like men and men acting like women. The roles are almost reversed. 

We have over-mothered and under-fathered boys who grow up into a man's body but are still mentally little boys. And no surprise that women have a mind not to get married nowadays. 

If we taught our kids to embrace their specific roles and actually had parents who lived out the roles in the home, the whole world would change. 

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 

~ Genesis 5:1-2