Study #10: Treating Yourself As a Symbol of God

Genesis 1:27
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Leviticus 19:2
Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

John Wesley felt his heart strangely warmed while hearing Martin Luther’s preface to Romans read aloud. I felt my heart strangely warmed when I read Man’s Quest for God, a book by Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel. In his book he quotes Genesis 1:27.

Heschel uses this verse to talk about humans being a symbol for God, both body and soul. It is the unity of body and soul that makes a person and it is that same unity that is created in the image of God. Not just the good parts—all of us. Heschel says that we must treat each other as symbols of God. That is what blew my mind. How many things do I wish I could take back? How many things do I want to apologize for—right now?

Being created in the image of God means that we don’t have to be ashamed of the parts of our lives that don’t fit the perfect Christian image we have in our heads. It means that we fit in. We, too, are created in the image of God. We don’t have to leave the messy bits at home. We belong, even with the messy parts. God accepts and loves us as a whole—our bodies and our souls.

Heschel says, “Treat yourself as a symbol of God.” That seemed even harder than treating others as symbols of God. Treat myself as a symbol of God? Somehow it was easier to accept that other people are symbols for God, but me? No way. I think that wholeness comes when we believe this to be true. As long as we believe that we are less than, as long as we believe that others deserve better treatment than we do, we will always be fragmented, both in our relationships with others and with God.

Treating yourself as a symbol of God could mean different things to different people. You know what that could mean for you. When you are able to do that, you are closer to wholeness, closer to holiness, closer to the person that God created you to be (Leviticus 19:2). God wants wholeness for us. God created us as a unity of body and soul and wants us to be holy and whole. God wants for us to treat each other and ourselves as images of God.

Heschel says: “The divine symbolism of man is not what he has—such as reason or the power of speech—but in what he is potentially: he is able to be holy as God is holy. To imitate God, to act as [God] acts in mercy and love, is the way of enhancing our likeness.” It’s not about where you are now. It’s about where you can be. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve fallen. You are still created in the image of God and are in a position to enhance that image. You may feel that the image is a bit faded, but it’s been there all along. Go treat yourself as a symbol of God.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

• What does it mean, to you, to be created in the image of God? Does it make you uncomfortable to be called holy? Why?
• Are you surprised that body and soul are created in the image of God?
• What are you going to do to treat yourself as a symbol of God?

Emily Echols, USA