Ok, we need to get to the main course…. What do you think of when you think of the image of God? When you think image or even the Greek word, eikon (icon), the icon or image of God, what do you think of?
 
Like the golden arches, when you see the golden arches do you think McDonald’s, big mac, filet fish, quarter pounder, French fries? Or when you see the swoosh, you think of Nike and basketball shoes or clothes. Or when you see the iconic G, the only G that matters, you think of the Green Bay Packers, Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Reggie White, Jordan Love, Micah Parsons.
 
When we think of the image of something or the icon of something, even on currency. We look at the image, and we see that it represents something, it stands for something, it has meaning or value because of what it represents. Let’s go back to our passage, because I think it actually means more than that.
 
Genesis 1:26-27-26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, … 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
 
The word image is similar to the word likeness, saying the same thing. But that word in the Hebrew is tselem, which actually means idol or statue. The purpose of a tselem was to represent a deity. If you want to jot down 2 Kings 11:18 notice the correlation, All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces … The word idols is tselem, or image. In Assyrian or Babylonian culture they had images or idols called Lamassu. They would put this statue or image at the entrances of their cities or their temples. They represented the icon of the king and they treated the kings like gods, a physical image, representing the king or deity. When the king conquered a city or territory, they would put up an image/idol at the entrance to let everyone know who rules now.
 
Then we read Genesis 1 and that’s what God is saying he is doing. Herbert Niehr says, “Humans were created to be the living statues of God. There was no need of a divine image because humans represented Yahweh as a statue would have done.”
 
God is creating us in his image, that we are to be his idol, his representation to the world who rules, but not ruling out of absolute authority, but ruling through bearing his essence, reflecting his attributes, and creating order on his behalf.
 
But here’s the challenge, that’s why God said we should have no idols, images before us, because we were to be the image or the idol of God, representing his essence and his purpose to the world.
 
Now some of you may say, “I don’t have an idolatry problem. I don’t have images or idols in my house, that I pray to or bow down to.” Not so fast my friends. Image or idols are simply reflecting or representing what we behold, what is before us.
 
Idolatry is reflecting or representing something other than God, or placing our trust, our essence, our attributes in something other than God.
 
We can have our careers be idols, our spouses, our family, we can have people be idols, we can have buddhas or saints be idols, or politics or ideation. We bear witness to false gods and don’t represent the image of God that he has created and invited us to live by.
 
New Testament professor Crispin Fletcher-Louis shares in plainly, but boldly.  “To locate divine presence and action in another part of creation or in that which we create is to absolve ourselves of our own responsibility to bear divine presence and action.” In other words, when we create an image and declare to others, “Here is your God!” it’s because that is so much easier than representing the presence of God to them ourselves. Being God’s image is our vocation; it’s our job. Idolatry is so egregious because it is how a person says to God, “I quit!”
 
Honestly, I never saw idolatry this way and I never saw the power of being created in God’s image this way. Yeah, I knew that I needed represent him, be a disciple, but I wonder how many times we miss the depth of this, because we have surmised the creation story, and ultimately the gospel story to, “be saved and behave so he will let you in.”
 
Yes, there is sin and brokenness in the world, we need a rescue, we need a savior, but if the Genesis story is true for all of scripture, then we need to go back to the fact that God desires and designs to work through human beings. Humanity is the eyes, ears, mouth, being and activity of the creator; God’s image within his creation.
 
Which should cause us to pause, how are we doing at representing God to his creative order? How are we doing at being his eyes, ears, mouth, being and activity to others? Remember, God didn’t just put his image inside Christians, or inside the good people, or inside the people that look and think like you. God placed his image in all of humanity, yes it is broken because of sin, and Christ redeemed. But do we treat others with a dignity that reflects the image of God? Man, there’s another message for another time. Showing dignity to others is probably part of the buffet you want to skip, but it is one that should get our attention.
 
Today, I want you to sit with the challenge of what it means, according to Scripture to live out the image of God? How it may be unsettling to hear it as an idol? But also, how we have other idols in our lives?
 
Meet with God and allow him to shift your heart, mind, and actions to align with his image.