What do statues represent?
Few of us can forget the scene that unfolded in Baghdad, Iraq on April 9, 2003 in the wake of the United States-led invasion of Iraq. Sensing the end of Saddam Hussein's reign, dozens of Iraqis (one of them an Iraqi weight-lifter wielding a sledgehammer) attempted in vain to topple Saddam's statue. The scene caught the attention of the international media. It also caught the attention of one United States Marine, Marine Corporal Edward Chin. Using a ladder, Chin climbed up onto the statue, draped a United States flag over Saddam's face, and directed his unit to topple the statue using an M88 tank recovery vehicle.
Ecstatic Iraqi citizens immediately jumped on the statue, decapitated the head, and dragged it through the streets, striking it with the heels of their shoes. The image stunned Arab viewers, who believed Saddam was winning the war! But like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
So think for a moment about what statues represent. Ancient rulers would erect statues made in their own images in order to project their power and authority throughout their kingdom. You didn't dare disrespect, let alone attack the image of a ruler unless you were absolutely certain he had been overthrown.
After Saddam's arrest, interrogators would play videos of his image and likeness being toppled, decapitated, dragged through the streets, and being disrespected by his own citizens. Saddam would broil with anger. So tuck this story away for a minute, and let's talk about the importance of images.
We are created in God's image.
I find the story of creation quite intriguing. Throughout the six days of creation God says, "Let there be." Let there be light, let there be sky, let there be water, let there be dry ground, let the land produce vegetation, let the water teem with living creatures, and let the land produce living creatures. But when God creates man, notice the shift in emphasis when he says, "Let us make..." There is a more personal tone in these words. God is more intimately engaged in the creation of man than with any other creature.
And when God creates all the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and all other living creatures, he creates them, "...according to their kinds." Genesis 1:25 (NIV). But when he creates man, look what he says! Genesis 1:26 (NIV) says, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...' " Genesis 1:27 (NIV) says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them." And here is what Genesis 2:7 (NIV) says. "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."
Don't read over these verses too casually! Understand who you are! You are the image, the very likeness of the living God, the creator of the universe. God doesn't create statues of marble and stone. From conception, he knits us together in our mothers' wombs, he forms us and shapes us, he breathes life into us, and he causes us to become living beings. He places within us his very likeness, his image. Now consider this next fact.
We were created to respect God's image.
It isn't just you and I that bear the image of God-- it's every single living human being that we encounter. Every person we meet is the very image, the very likeness of the living God. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 25:45 (NIV), "...whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." What we do to one another, we do to God. And what we refuse to do for one another, we refuse to do for God. No one can claim to love God, but at the same time hate his neighbor! When we respect God's image in others, it changes everything.
But here's what's wrong. We don't treat God's image in others as if it's sacred! We act as if God has been overthrown and as if we can disrespect his image and trample over others without impunity, wrath, judgment, or any consequence!
So we disrespect the image of God in the poor by walking past them in their need, and by not feeding them, clothing them, caring for them, or loving them. Look at Romans 1 this week. Look what happens in Romans 1:21-23 when we stop glorifying God, and stop giving thanks to God, and when we disrespect God's image.
A torrent of evil is unleashed upon our fellow man! When we don't respect God's image, we degrade one another sexually, tell lies, and serve created things instead of our creator. We become filled with lust. Men and women give up natural relations and become inflamed with lust for their own gender. We descend into indecency and perversion. We become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, hate, insolence, and arrogance. When there is no boundary, when there is no respect for the image of God in others, it's open season and nothing is off limits. People become objects to manipulate.
We were created to represent God's interests.
Do you remember why kings created images in their own likeness? It was to visibly project their authority over all things. We weren't created just to be under God's authority ourselves. We were created to represent God's interests and to bring all things under his authority.
Look at Genesis 1:26 (NIV) again. "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' "
And Genesis 1:27-28 (NIV) continues, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.' "
These are powerful phrases. What do you think it means to be fruitful? What does it mean to increase in number? To fill the earth? What do you think it means to subdue the earth and rule over the earth? Check out Acts 17:26-27 (NIV). "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."
Has it ever dawned on you that God has strategically placed you in the exact place and the exact circumstance of his choosing, so that you could be his instrument? That job transfer, that seating change in your class or workplace, that reassignment, that deployment, that new neighborhood, that third shift, that hospital bed or wheelchair, or that classroom are not there by coincidence. It's exactly where God has placed you for his purpose. He set the time and the exact place where you should live and work. Instead of looking for an escape, consider God's purpose for you. Be fruitful!
We were created to be God's property managers.
Not only does God set the time and exact place where we should live and work, but he graciously gives us everything we need to fulfill his set purpose. In Genesis 1:29-31 (NIV) God says, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground-- everything that has the breath of life in it-- I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that he had made and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-- the sixth day."
Here are some verses that challenged me. For example, what is truly mine? (Psalm 24:1) Am I serving things or using things to serve God? (Romans 1:25) What do I really need? 1 Tim 6:7-8 (NIV) says, "For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."
What does it mean to be rich? 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV) says, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."
Living in the way of Jesus means that we remember that we are created in the image of the living God. Therefore, we are to be respecting of God's image, serving God's interests, and trusting God in life and death.