Do we have a God shaped voids inside? Are we an image bearer?
What are we anyway? I know there are many ideas out there to attempt to describe us and our condition. One that I’m going to challenge now is the God shaped void inside us hypothesis. I don’t mean to be picky, but if we can line up some revealed facts, maybe we can alleviate some of the confusion.
A God shaped void inside of us? What does that mean? Does it mean we can contain God? Does it mean our problem with God is only internal? Does it mean God only wants to satisfy our deepest longing inside of us? Can we patch over this void and still get along?
There are probably a few more obvious questions I am missing but, what is the meaning of void really? I cannot answer many of these questions about the void. Maybe it’s a little bit too mystical for me to think of void inside of me.
Maybe I should go to a dentist and get the cavity filled! Honestly, it is written in Genesis that we are made in the image of God. NOW! What does it mean to be in the image of God? So this is the crux of the condition I am forwarding with.
We are fallen/damaged image bearers. In essence I am carrying a load that encumbers me , A congenital condition, I don’t realize it is there. At salvation, for the first time, I/we see the burden as it is being unloaded to God.
Then I realize the damaged condition as being much worse than I ever imagined. When we begin to conform to the image of God, we are beginning the process of being renewed to original specifications; the garbage is being knocked off of our intact image of God. On the inside of us and the outside of us as God wisely guides us to himself.
We are being reshaped so we can fit ever more perfectly into the template specifications that God created us to enjoy in this life. All the encumbering drag, loading of sin is reduced yet, still not completely healed in this Earthly life.
When you are an image bearer you can hide your image underneath other things that are more important to you. The tyranny of the urgent is something each of us must deal with while constantly aligning our will with God’s. A challenge for sure!
Your true image can be hidden by worry, self-protection, hate, isolation, fear, grief, disappointment, jobs, people, success, and living your own way. All of these things plus many more will encumber your joy resulting in a form of false pride that will exclude God from your life.
In my personal opinion, your first admission to being an image bearer is at salvation! At salvation, one of the levels that you admit is that you sense you are something that you aren’t at the salvation moment.
Salvation is creating an awakening of a need and desire for help to become what you should be. The help part of salvation is why we are calling it being saved. We are being helped/saved from being much less than we were designed to be.
Stay tuned, the next part is on the way. 1 of 3
dennyisms, thoughts, on the way Home! 