We are Made in God’s Image and Likeness

Matthew 22: 20-21 (NRSV): We are Made in God’s Image and Likeness

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” [The Pharisees] answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Although originally intended for a group of self-righteous religious leaders, Jesus' message applies to each of us today. In a world driven by politics, economics, and technology, it is easy to forget who we are as children of God. Society too often equates a person’s worth with their status, the amount of zeros in their salary, the size of their house, the car they drive . . . and the list continues. In this passage, however, Jesus reminds us who we truly are by alluding to Genesis 1:27: “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

We are made in God’s image and likeness. And since God is love (1 John 4:8), we are created for love. The coin, therefore, is a symbol of what we are not. Why, then, do people blindly step on others in order to accumulate more “coins”? Jesus implies the question and presents the following answer: We are children of God, and human life is a precious gift that belongs to God, not any institution or ideology.

Let us choose to live lives of love for one another, imitating the life Jesus models for us in his self-emptying example. St. Paul reminds us of this in 2 Corinthians 8:9: "For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich." It isn't about our wallets; it's about our hearts. Let us love others with the love we were given in our creation.

Heavenly Father, we offer ourselves to you and no other. You are the author of life and have made us in your image and likeness. Please grant us the grace to both recognize this in ourselves and in our brothers and sisters as we go out into the world to live the love you gave us. In Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Have a blessed week.

Stan