Legos first appeared in 1946 in Denmark, but they never really gained popularity until the 1970s when they began to add various themes to their blocks. Since then, Legos has been one of the most popular toys for children (and adults) of all ages. Why is this? In fact, Legos were not alone in their popularity. Before Legos, there were plenty of other “construction toys.” Many of us can remember the hours spent creating with Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, and other popular building sets. In fact, even without these “sets,” children from the dawn of civilization used blocks of wood and stones, mud and sand to build their creations. But why? I think there is one simple reason – we were created in the “image and likeness of God.”
Historically, there has been a lot of debate in theology about the meaning of man being in the image and likeness of God. Some explanations can be dismissed quickly and easily. For example, some suggest that it means that man looks like God physically. Some suggest that Adam resembled God in the sense of God’s having flesh and blood. However, Adam could not resemble God physically because Scripture says that “God is spirit” (John 4:24) and therefore exists without a body. Others have similarly suggested that it means that to “walk upright” since man is unique among the animals in his ability to walk upright. But that is also a physical characteristic that would not reflect God as a spirit.
Others claim that the image of God is seen in man’s intellectual abilities. Augustine suggested that man reflected God’s image in his memory, understanding and will but this would also be true of the animals. They too have memories, understanding and a free will.
One of the most common is to suggest that the image of God in man is reflected in Human language. While human language is clearly much more advanced than that of the animals, animals also display various levels of language and communication. So, there is much more to being in God’s image than human language and communication.
So, what is it that separates humans from the animals? Legos! Well, not exactly – but close. There are a number of ways that God’s image is uniquely seen in man. Like God, man is a creator who loves beauty and values morality. These are likenesses of God that are not seen in the animal kingdom.
First, and most of all, man, like God, is a creator. This is why we love Legos, Erector sets and Lincoln Logs – because we love to create new things. Man’s desire to create is seen in almost every area of our existence. Animals eat whatever food they can find. Humans create all kinds of recipes – even for the same ingredients! Human creativity is seen in our art, our car choices and our house designs. Every aspect of our existence is filled with creativity. God is our creator. And He created man in his own image and likeness. And man is also a creator. There is, however, one essential difference. God can create out of nothing; humans create from what they have. And, since the dawn of creation, man has been amazingly creative!
Second, when we look at the universe, we see that God is not only a creator, but He is a creator who loves beauty! When God created the universe, He did so as a master painter, creating beauty in innumerable varieties. One type of flower and one type of bird would have been enough for an efficient universe. But God not only created the birds and the flowers, He created them as beautiful reflections of His beauty. God created the world in beauty because beauty is part of His character. When we look at the beauty of creation, we see the fingerprints of the beauty of God.
As humans, we gravitate toward beauty. You can see this in our advertisements, our gardens, and our home décor. We are not simply satisfied with functionality – we desire beauty. And we desire it in all different forms. It is why we love the beauty of music by Paganini and by The Moody Blues! It is why we have art museums that include art by impressionists, realists, and even Cubists. Man in God’s image is not only a creator; he also loves beauty, just like His creator does.
Third, there is a moral aspect to man that is not seen in the animals. Animals can be taught obedience, but they seem to have no natural morality. Animals are driven by their needs and feel no moral responsibility to respect the needs of other animals. Yet our daily lives are dominated by an awareness of morality even when we do immoral acts and think immoral thoughts. We battle with evil within ourselves and we are quick to condemn it in others. We long for the good, but all too often find that the good that we desire, we don’t do, while the evil we know we should not do, we end up doing (Romans 7:21-23).
Where does this urge for morality come from? It is not natural. It could never have evolved because evolution would require us to be dominated by our need to survive and even “immoral” actions would become “moral” for the survival of the species! We even say that there is “honor among thieves” because morality is a concept even among the immoral. So morality is another aspect of man in the image of God. When we argue that something is not right, it is because we are created in the image and likeness of a moral God.
Finally, there is a spiritual aspect to man that comes from God. Man is incurably religious. Every culture in human history has been dominated by belief in a God or gods. Philosopher Will Herberg said, “Man is homo religiosus, by ‘nature’ religious: as much as he needs food to eat or air to breathe, he needs a faith for living.” John Calvin said that our hearts are “idol factories.” If we do not have a god to worship, we will create one!
Animals do not seem to have any spiritual inclinations. They do not pray or create any gods. I do love the old saying about the difference between cats and dogs – dogs think we are gods; cats think they are gods. But they really do not have a spiritual aspect like humans do. Humans are religious by nature.
That does not mean that we always reflect the image of God clearly or correctly or perfectly. The Fall of Man in the Garden changed all that. Our sin has marred God’s image, but it is still clearly visible in all humans. When we come to Christ, the Holy Spirit is working within us to renew the image of God so that the world might see God’s image in us more clearly. This is why Paul writes “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This is what the world needs now – to see God’s image and likeness in us – in our words, our actions and our attitudes. We need to let the Spirit do His work of transforming us “into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).
So, what is the image of God in man? Well, it’s definitely not our intellect or our language and it is not our bodily form. I think we reflect God’s image uniquely from all the rest of creation in that we are like God – spiritual, moral, aesthetic (we love beauty) and creative. But most of all, we, like our creator, love to create. And that’s why we love Legos – and anything else that allows us to reflect our wonderful Creator!
Teaching Ministry …
Thank you for your prayers as I taught my Theology class last month. We were able to get all the translations and PowerPoints completed and the class went very smoothly. Our question times were great opportunities to better understand and apply what they were learning about theology, the Bible and the nature and work of God. One of the questions even prompted a discussion about the image of God!
We are also grateful for your help with paying for the translations. Teaching these classes online this past year has been the greatest challenge I’ve faced since I started teaching in Ukraine 25 years ago. I have a break for a month before I need to get started on my next class in Critical Thinking. Thank you for your support and your prayers!
Family Times …
The girls are continuing their adventure in learning about American History. We have been learning about pioneer life on the Great Plains and also about the Great Migration West along the Santa Fe, Oregon and California Trails. Katya is enjoying learning about US History too! Homeschooling has been a real blessing for us and for the girls, especially during the COVID pandemic restrictions. We are enjoying doing science experiments and reading great books from the Little House on the Prairie series and the Chronicles of Narnia books. We especially love that their favorite times are simply pulling out books and reading them. Sometimes it is even hard to get them to stop. We hope they will develop a life-long love for reading!
The weather here continues to be colder than usual. We have had very few days above freezing since November and that is continuing even into March. But the temperatures are starting to warm up and we are even beginning to have some “spring-like” days. And we are hoping for more – soon!
Even the cold weather had not stopped us from doing things together. We were able to go to the movies which was a special treat for the girls. And the large amounts of snow have led to many snowball fights, snow forts and tunnels, and sled riding.
We also enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day with a special time at home and Woman’s Day (March 8) with Grandma and Great Grandma. But we are all looking forward to some warmer weather and hoping that the pandemic restrictions might allow us to take a short trip or two together before my next class.
Health Issues …
I am continuing to improve physically but still facing some problems. My cardiologist continues to say that my heart condition is doing well but I still have occasionally problems with BP swings that we cannot figure out. I am working on rehabilitation, but I still have a long way to go. It seems unlikely that I have enough strength to return to teaching 8+ hours a day at this point. But we are hoping that I can be strong enough by next semester. Thank you for your prayers for me and my health issues!
Pray for Ukraine …
Please continue to pray for Ukraine. We still have a war in the east and it does not seem that Russia has any desire to end the conflict. Soldiers die every week but at least the battles are not as intense as a few years ago and the situation seems basically stable. Most are even calling it another “frozen conflict” – Russia has several of them right now. Pray for our students serving in those areas as well as students serving as chaplains and churches helping with refugees.
We continue to be concerned more about the situation in the United States. Strange and alarming changes are happening so fast it is hard to keep up with them. We pray for peace in the hearts of those who love America, and we also pray for protection for women and children affected by many of the latest presidential decrees. It is hard to know what the future of America will look like if these declarations are made into law. So, we are praying!
Even in the midst of all this turmoil, we continue to be amazed at the creativity of mankind and our ability to adapt and to find new ways to reflect the glory of our Creator! Consider how you can creatively honor the Lord in all you do!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
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