[5 min read—client resource]
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had conversations centering around the question, “Who am I?” As human beings, there is something in us that aches for this question to be answered. In dealing with human identity, I propose that the answer is beautiful, yet underwhelmingly simple: we are God’s children.
There’s a fascinating tradition in Iceland with the birth of every baby. Whenever a baby is born to an Icelandic family, the child is given a last name that matches the first name of their father. In other words, family surnames don’t exist in Iceland. Rather, the child is given a new last name that marks them from the time of their birth as belonging to their father. In Iceland, children acquire their last names from their father’s first name, followed by “son” for boys or “dóttir” for girls. Here’s an example: if a boy is born to a man named Jon, his last name would be “Jonsson.” If a girl is born, her last name would be “Jonsdottir” (aka, Jons daughter).
Why am I telling you this? I believe there is something profound to be learned about human identity from the Icelandic tradition. Somewhere along the timeline of our existence in this world, I believe most of us lose sight of our true identities–what makes us really human, what makes us really matter. As human beings created in the image of God, we are not primarily created for what we can do (though this does matter). We don’t exist for a list of accomplishments, the accumulation of wealth, or an assortment of talents, nor do we exist for being attractive, wise, helpful, or successful. All these things can add value to our life, but what makes us really matter is this: we are God’s children. We have been given a primary identity that is both profound and underwhelming (from our vantage point): We are God’s children. Our primary purpose in life is to know God, love him, glorify him, and enjoy him forever as his beloved children. Or as the New City Catechism frames it: “God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory.”
At this point you may be asking, “Okay then, so how do I know that I’m living to his glory?” I believe this is the point where most of us get stuck when it comes to answering the question of “Who am I and what makes my life count?” We can grasp that we are created by God, sure. And we can understand that we are his children, and he is our Father. And yet something in us longs for an extra edge. We ask, “Okay, so what then? What is God’s will for my life as his child? What does he want me to do?”
In the book of 1 Thessalonians, Paul talks about the will of God several times. What does he tell us about God’s will for our lives? He tells us that God wills our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3)–that is, that we become gradually and increasingly like Christ himself over our lifetime. Paul continues to tell us that God’s will includes that we love one another (4:6-10) and then says that God’s will also results in “leading a quiet life” (4:11). And finally, he tells us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (5:16-18).
In sum, Paul’s advice about God’s will for our life is as follows: become like Christ, love one another, lead a quiet life, rejoice all the time, pray without ceasing, and be grateful. This is hardly the grand life many of us imagine for ourselves. What is remarkable about having Christlike character, loving people, being pleasant, rejoicing often, and praying in all things? Not much by worldly standards. But God’s way is not man’s way. Do we need to do something massive and groundbreaking with our lives in order to matter and have value?
This is where the doctrine of the Image of God becomes a comfort to us. We are told in the very first pages of Scripture, God’s words to us, that humanity is created in the image of God (see Genesis 1). The image of God is the unique condition humans possess that reflects their Creator God. Although we do not have explicit references as to what it is that constitutes the image of God, it is clear that humanity possesses a unique nature that reflects the nature of their Creator. All human beings as whole persons, both physically and spiritually, both male and
female, make visible the characteristics of God. We do this structurally as persons, relationally as we love and trust God and relate to other humans, and functionally as we join him in his mission of making other gospel, covenant-partners. Christ is the true image of God, the exact representation of God’s nature, and the Christian aims their life at growing toward the image of our Creator.
Yet notice one thing: although we know without a doubt that we are made in God’s image, that we are like him, and that in Christ we can become increasingly like him, we are never told exactly what constitutes the image of God. The shared attributes I listed above certainly are part of the picture, but we are never explicitly told, “And this is what makes you the image of God…”
The Scriptures seem to be less concerned with addressing what constitutes this likeness, as we are not told explicitly that the image of God is found in something like our moral or relational abilities. Although our moral, relational, rational, emotional and creative abilities do uniquely reflect the person of God and make us distinct from animals, we are not told that one of these is directly the image of God that is spoken of in Genesis 1. What we do know is that the image of God is inherent in all human beings and is not dependent on what one has or does but is dependent upon what a human is. Rather than telling us what the nature of this likeness is, we
are told more about what the purpose of the image is. The goal of the image is this: to reflect and glorify its Creator by living in loving, trusting relationship with him and others; to exercise creative dominion over the earth in order to bring about more peace and wholeness; and to thus create more covenant-partners (disciples) that glorify God (Genesis 1:28, Matthew 28:19-20).
The good news about not knowing the exact nature of what makes up the image of God is that we cannot hold certain qualities above others and thus assign more value to certain people. For example, if the image of God was found primarily in our ability to be rational, a theologian might have more of the image of God than a child. Or, if the image of God was found in our ability to be moral, the Pope would have more of the image of God than an inmate, and we would be justified to treat the inmate with less respect and dignity. We do not find this type of distinction in Scripture but rather find that there is some nature every human being possesses that makes them worthy of respect and dignity. We find this in passages like Genesis 9:6 where God says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Notice that God says “whoever.” He does not single out the superiority of the moral person, nor the rational person, nor the creative person, but chooses to say “whoever.” This would indicate that all persons—whether born or unborn, disabled or able-bodied, dull or bright, healthy or sick, moral or immoral—bear the image of God. All persons share in the right to life and dignity.
So again, I come back to the question, “What makes my life matter?” We’ll explore this question more in part 2.