Living in the Image of God M01S06
Building faith by Living in the Image of God arises from commitment to God’s purpose and recognizing that your every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals. Furthermore, “Living in the Image of God” makes you a beneficiary of God’s promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Every blessing you earn is yours to keep until fulfilled.
Living in the Image of God begins with commitment to God’s purpose and living according to the commitment. A person builds and strengthens faith by Living in the Image of God—based on recognizing that every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals. Furthermore, in the Beatitudes, Christ proclaims God’s promise of blessing for every person that commits to the responsibilities of representing God in human interactions: through humility toward others, compassion, motivation for righteousness based on commitment to God’s purpose, and acceptance of individual responsibility for peace and righteousness irrespective of what others do or fail to do. Also, Christ describes the blessing further in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, using compassion as an example for Living in the Image of God.
Thus, faith building is the primary benefit of Living in the Image of God. The other benefit is the promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes (see Resources for Living in the Image of God and Human Responsibilities in Living in the Image of God) and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (see Call to Compassion—Parable of the Sheep and the Goats). We discuss Living in the Image of God as a basis for faith to make a case that a person builds faith of God by committing to God’s purpose and living accordingly.
Basis for Faith
Faith arises from commitment to God’s purpose and living according to the commitment. Living in the Image of God implies seeking to fulfill God’s purpose in every situation. You seek to represent him among people that he places around you—to be the channel for his presence among them and his human interactions with them. You seek to convey the Image of God to them and others. You recognize that every task and every battle belong to God and that he will lead you to complete tasks that he has assigned to you and accomplish goals that he establishes for you.
You commit to God’s purpose and resources in seeking to represent him among others—recognize and accept total dependence on him; seek him in recognition of total dependence; and humble yourself before him that he may provide, direct, and guide your human capabilities to accomplish tasks that he assigns to you. The Holy Spirit will lead you to receive and follow God’s guidance and direction in every situation.
You commit to your responsibilities as God’s representative among others. Live in humility toward others. Humility means you recognize every person is potentially a conveyor of God’s human presence to you and as such is greater and more important than you. Be sensitive to the needs around you and your responsibilities in a call to compassion. Compassion means you recognize the need, care about the needy, are motivated by care to commit to doing what you can, and persevere in seeking to alleviate the need. Let your commitment to God’s purpose be your only motivation for righteousness. Also, hold yourself individually responsible for peace and righteousness, irrespective of what others do or fail to do.
Additionally, be patient and persevere, even when it appears your prayer has not been granted.
God’s schedule may differ from yours. Recall that Joseph waited two agonizing years after his prayer for release from Potiphar’s jail. As we discuss in Prayer of Joseph from the Dungeon Part 2of2, God granted his prayer but had him wait in jail for two more years as other events needed to occur to prepare a position for Joseph. Also, recall David’s victory against Goliath (Key Victory for David—in Waiting for God’s Time). As he prepared to fight Goliath, he recognized the battle belonged to God and was motivated purely by commitment to God’s purpose. Similarly, Jonathan triumphed against Philistines (Extending Positive Impact—Jonathan Initiates Victory for Israel). He also recognized the battle belonged to God and was motivated purely by commitment to God’s purpose.
Promise of Blessing
The Beatitudes proclaim God’s promise of blessing for a person that commits to Living in the Image of God and lives according to the commitment. You earn blessing every time you show yourself committed to God’s purpose and resources and to your responsibilities as his representative among others. God illustrates the promise again in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Call to Compassion—Parable of the Sheep and the Goats). You earn blessing every time you complete your responsibilities in a call to compassion—recognize the need, care about the needy, your care for the needy motivates you to commit to doing what you can, and you persevere in seeking to alleviate the need. Every blessing you earn is yours to keep until fulfilled.
Summary of What We Learned
Faith building is the primary benefit of Living in the Image of God. The other benefit is the promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.
Living in the Image of God builds faith because commitment to God’s purpose leads to recognizing that your every task or battle belongs to God and he will guide you to complete his tasks and accomplish his goals.
Furthermore, Living in the Image of God makes you a beneficiary of God’s promise of blessing proclaimed in the Beatitudes and illustrated in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.
Study Guide with Notes
Study guide available: Link to Study Guide with Notes