image of God

I met with a girlfriend of mine this evening, and as you might expect the topic of body image came up. As a good Christian, I replied, "Well, we have to remember that we are made in the image of God." My friend most wisely responded, "Yeah, I've heard that before...but what exactly does that mean?" 

Umm.....good question. I have no idea. You know those phrases that you're just used to saying, but then you realize you can't explain it? Thus was this conversation. 

I reflected more on it upon returning home. I recalled my church's current Bible Study on the Book of James. James uses an analogy that Christians who read Scriptures and do not do what it says is equivalent to a man looking in a mirror and forgetting what he looks like. (James 1:22-25) I hope I am not taking it a step further out of context, but how many of us look into the mirror and see ourselves, created in God's image, and then look away and forget that we are His? 

I also searched an online concordance for verses talking about the image of God. The Bible says that our body is "being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3:9-11) I wonder if the "image of God" has less to do with the physical characteristics as the intrinsic qualities of a person. As we spend more and more time in our relationship with Christ, we will in turn reflect His image more.  It is at least something to chew on...

Our conversation made me think of a painting belonging to a friend of mine from college. She is a wonderful woman of God, and honestly I have been encouraged (and envious) of her passion and love of Jesus since I met her the first day of orientation. She is now a missionary (and mother!) in Japan with her husband, and I cannot help but know and rejoice that everyone she meets has seen the face of Christ in her reflection. This painting continues to encourage me to this day, reminding me of who I am in the Lord, my true image in Him. 

And if all this is true because itself is a reflection of the character of the Lord God Almighty, how could I not fall in love with Him?