Image... why do we care?

I was going to write a post about theories theologians have about 'image of God' and how it functions and what it means. But it occurred to me that this needed to be preceded by a post about why all that would even matter. Does thinking about 'image of God' make any tangible difference to how we think about God and people, and to how we treat God and people?

I think it does.

If we think that every human creature 'images' God or bears God's image, then Scripture demonstrates that this informs how we speak to/of them (James) and how we think of them (Matthew: Sermon on the Mount). It puts brakes on our sin. It questions our easy contempt for people who irritate us or hate us. It threatens our sense of superiority. In the end, if everyone does have this valuable 'image of God' in some way, then there is some connection between them and God.

It means that people with mental illness or disability, stroke victims, unborn children,the dying and so forth, are all infinitely valuable. They possess 'humanity' not because they can contribute to the economic growth of the western world, but because of the connection with God which their humanity gives them. And seeing as you can't separate a human person from the state of being human, it means that each person is valuable. Thinking about this issue can give us more courage, I think, to declare the lie which undergirds much of our entertainment industry, if not our society: that only the beautiful people are worthwhile.

A lot depends on how a person understands 'image of God', whether we still possess it after the Fall, how it relates to Jesus as image of God, and other similar questions. But it does make a difference to how we understand ourselves, each other and ulimately God, particularly how we are in relation to him. It doesn't do everything for us, but it does provide a fundamental building block for our understanding on these issues.

It isn't sentimental either, I don't think. There is no sense in which we try and find the best in people we would ordinarily consider ratbags and call that 'image' and start to make outrageously positive comments about them. It's more a driving conviction that bulsters the command to 'love our neighbour'. Sure, we'll do it because Jesus has shown us what love looks like and told us to do it, but when we understand the kinds of things which would lead to this command, it allows us to obey with greater awareness and clarity. Intelligent obedience is almost always better quality obedience and achieves more good for more people.

A lot more has to be said - about sin, about Jesus, about the way image functions, but this will do for a start: image of God isn't a peripheral aspect of human beings, it's central and key to understanding and learning to love people.