Made in the image and likeness…

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I was in one of our local prisons when I noticed that one of the men, whose name was Phil, couldn’t look me in the eye. Some of these men are very vulnerable indeed and it seemed that Phil was one. Very gently, I said: “You know we just want you to know that you matter and are really important.”

 

We divided into small groups and Phil was with me. Suddenly he spoke, saying: “In this place we’re numbers. We don’t have names. We don’t matter. All we experience is harshness. How can I believe that I’m important?”

 

I began to share what the Scriptures say about our dignity and finished with the wonderful quotation from Genesis, that we are “made in the image and likeness of God”. Phil began to sit up and look us in the eye, and I realised that somewhere inside himself he had begun to hear.

 

Sadly, I don’t think Phil is unique in this. Most people struggle with believing that we matter, and that’s compounded with shame and guilt about things we’ve done. Yet unconditional love is the heart of the Gospel of Christ, like it or not! Every person matters in God’s eyes, and that message is entrusted to those of us who say we are believers. We’re to live in our glorious, messy world as servants of this Good News. Archbishop Desmond Tutu often said he had only one message for those who struggle. The message is simple and repeated over and over again: “God loves you.”

 

He then said: “I tell them that, because the entire culture tells them they are unlovable. I have to give them the message of who they really are, children of God, loved by God.”

 

To return to the line from Genesis that we’re “made in the image and likeness of God”, the world has been created as a gift for us to live in. Time has been created as a gift so that humanity can order its life. It’s an illustration of how great God’s love is for us.

 

I once went to see Archbishop Derek Worlock who, after about an hour of listening to me, said something that I’ve never forgotten. “Don’t ever believe that you are alone; God has all things in control,” he said. “You are very significant to God.” Every time I remember that, I am grateful, because I was affirmed and lifted up by his words as he reminded me that I was a child of God, created by God, made in God’s image and likeness.

 

In the ancient world, the word “image” was used to signify an image or statue of the king that was sent out across the kingdom. The people who lived there could gaze upon the king. This image was the representative of the king. When the Bible says that we’re created in God’s image and likeness, it’s a reminder that we’re God’s representatives on Earth, called to let others know that they too are made in His image and likeness. Will we have the courage to proclaim it to the ends of the earth without fear?