Image of God

I have never visited Rome, it's on my "Places to See before I die" list, (now known as a Bucket List, according to my children) but I've read a lot about it and have been fascinated with its history.

One place I would really like to see is the Vatican. These buildings have been standing for centuries and have been the destination for millions of people. Michelangelo is one of them.

In fact, Michelangelo was hired to paint the massive ceilings of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. It took him fours years to complete the work but when he was done, visitors could see his vision painstakingly illustrated on the ceiling in brilliant colours. Biblical figures, angels, demons and God Himself, were caught in one freeze frame of each of their stories.

But time wasn't kind to that work of art. Years of grime, soot and natural pollution dulled the brilliance of the colours, distorted the images and, in some places, even covered them completely. What we saw on the ceiling of the cathedral in the 20th century is not what Michelangelo painted nearly 500 years previously. But even though we couldn't see them, the images were still there.

'So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them.' Genesis 1:27

I knew that Bible verse. It was probably one of the first I could quote. As I grew in faith, I began to gain understand it more. I realized it meant not only Adam and Eve, but each and every of us has been created in the image of God. In other words, every person in the world, past, present and future, has God's image within. No where in the Bible does it say God's image has ever been revoked from mankind or from a single person. God's image exists within every single man, woman and child ever created.

This was a revelation to me especially when viewed in the light of how I treat people. There were a lot of people out there whom I would consider less than Godly, and if I was honest, I would be one of them. So where was this image of God in the people around me? Where was it in me? And how could I make it more visible?

The answer was revealed to me in an article about the restoration of the Sistine Chapel. Just like Michelangelo's work of art, years of sin and spiritual pollution have darkened the image of God in all of mankind and within each person individually. The darkness varies from person to person, sometimes God's image may be quite apparent in someone. Other times, there may only be a rough outline or just the occasional a flash of its brilliance. And sometimes the image may be so buried under the grimy layers of sin that we wonder if it is there at all.

It is.

Michelangelo's paintings have been painstakingly cleaned over the years and marvellous things have been brought to light. There are colours no one even imagined existed back then. Figures and details hidden for centuries under layers of grime and soot have gradually emerged in all their brilliance. It is taking longer and involving more people to restore Michelangelo's original painting then it took for him to create it.

That was my revelation; the Sistine chapel wasn't restoring itself, there were dozens of people working to bring back the original images in all their glory. God in His wisdom has provided me with all the restorers I need to uncover His image within me. They are all the people I meet daily, not just those in the church, but those at work, on the street, at play; every single person is brought into my life to help my restoration, to help my salvation.

And there is more. I am not only responsible for helping to restore the image of God within myself, but also responsible for restoring it within others. They help me while I help them. Which means I have to work doubly hard to refraining from hiding God's image even more.

When I get annoyed and impatient with someone, insult them either verbally or mentally, or stereotype people, I am not acknowledging the image of God within them, I'm covering it up.

When I treat a group of teenagers with suspicion just because they are teens, when I'm impatient with the elderly and brusque to a telemarketer, I'm adding layers of grime to the image of God within each of them. But even worse, I'm adding double layers to the image within myself.

I think one of the hardest things to do is to see past the grime and the sin and seek out the image of God that exists within each and every annoying and scary person, and then to react accordingly. I figure the more I look and act like I see God’s image in every person I meet, I will be helping to restore that image, and not just in the person in front of me, but within myself as well.

We are talking hard work here. Restoration is hard work but unlike the restorers of Michelangelo's paintings, we don't have to guess at about the original image. Jesus Christ is that image and He is master restorer. As part of the Body of Christ I am supposed to help; to help restore myself and others around me. Fortunately, I've been given a life-time to do it.

And, man, do I need it.