Image Dei: Part II

In the beginning, the Lord God created Adam and Eve, men and women in His own likeness. The Triune God created a whole and complete person — made up of a body, a mind and a soul. Much like the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

God gave each of us a brain and a mind of our own. Like God, we have the capability to think things through, to reason things out. Like God, we have the ability to make our own decisions and our own choices in life. We can think Godly thoughts or we can think un-Godly thoughts. Our inward thoughts are often expressed in our outward words and actions. Like God can be creative, we have the ability to create “new” things out of the old resources available to us.

As part of our thinking process, God created within us certain desires, urges, tendencies and drives. These are a natural part of us; they are to be used in a God-pleasing manner.

Sin is when we act on these desires, urges, tendencies and drives, then use them in ways that God never intended. In the beginning, Satan spoke to Eve’s desire. Satan showed her the fruit on the Tree of Life, which God had forbidden her to eat. But the fruit looked so deliciously good that Eve “desired” to have it. So, she gave in to this urge, this drive, and she picked the fruit and ate it. In the process, Eve disobeyed God; she broke God’s rules (rules designed for her own protection). Eve sinned! And she caused Adam to sin, also. When confronted by God, they (1) blamed each other, and (2) blamed God for their sin. They refused to take responsibility for their thoughts and their actions. Adam and Eve desired to be something or someone that they were not created by God to be; they were not content or satisfied with who they were, or whose they were!

Many people today are not satisfied with who they are because they do not know whose they are! Some men desire to be women; some women desire to be men. Some men and women have the urge to love and marry people of the same sex. These urges and desires are natural and Godly; acting on them or giving in to them is sinful and un-Godly.

Finally, God gave each of us a soul. When the Lord God had shaped Man in His own image, God breathed into Man His own holy breath — and Man became a living soul. Sometimes, we call this our conscience, our inner being, our personality. The soul is the source of life. We can clone a human body with a human mind; we cannot clone the soul. We cannot create life! The soul is our divine inner guide; we can know what is “right,” or what pleases God; we can know what is “wrong,” what displeases God. The soul is our teacher; it instructs us in how to live a “righteous” life. The soul guides us in making decisions and choices based on God’s truth. The soul leads us into a loving relationship with God and causes us to love one another. The soul leads us to worship God, to serve God, to obey God and to respect all living things. The soul guards us against giving in to our sinful desires and urges. The soul helps us take responsibility for our own words and deeds and not blame others for our sinfulness. The soul causes us to be merciful and forgiving. The soul reminds us of who we are and whose we are — men and women created in God’s image!

“We can think Godly

thoughts or we can think un-Godly thoughts. Our inward thoughts are often expressed in our outward words and actions. Like God can be creative, we have the ability to create “new” things out of the old resources available

to us.”