Colossians 1:15a – [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God.

When I ponder the state of our culture and the individuals within it, the word "image" is something that often comes to mind in a powerful way. We are concerned about our image. This is evidenced in the huge amounts of money spent in the cosmetic business. Women and men are cajoled into looking, smelling, and grooming in ways that are considered fashionable. Translated, this means appealing to the opposite sex!

In the business world we cultivate an image. Some are known as "risk takers" who seem to succeed in all their ventures. Some are "super" salespeople who always seem to close the deal. In this world, looking successful is almost as important as being so!

In the sports world, we offer hero worship to those who can accomplish incredible feats of physical strength, grace, or endurance. But in all these images, there seems to be a shallowness, an incompleteness. The true image is the one named in Colossians 1, the image that God revealed to us in Jesus.

This image is the real deal! The same chapter continues: "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (Colossians 1:19-20)

I find that when I am concerned with my image it is rarely the one which God would desire of me, the image of Christ, shaping and forming me in perfection as I yield to His will.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we confess we are far too conscious of what others think of us, far too willing to accept the standards of our society. We pray today that by knowing the image of God in you we will be moved by your Spirit to renew our desire to accept the image you desire for us, through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

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