All of us want to be like God or have His characteristic attributes and not being broken at all, right? To be the most powerful and intelligent person who is also excellent at multitasking. So, we could live in the world as the most successful person.
After all, God has created us in His image.
Yes, God has indeed created us to be His image-bearers. Genesis chapter 1, verse 27 and Romans chapter 8, verses 29-30 say so.
However, the Scriptures also declare,
“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 27)
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm chapter 34, verse 18)
What? These do not make sense at all! Although God is the most powerful and intelligent divine person who is also excellent at multitasking, are we supposed to be weak, foolish and broken to bear His image?
The Spiritual Perspective
Yes, we are supposed to be weak, foolish and broken to bear His image. As the world's culture is opposite to the Kingdom culture, we are to do an upside-down living on the earth.
When God created human beings, they were placed in the Garden of Eden to take care of it. While taking care of the Garden, God gave them opportunities to enjoy their intimacy with Him.
However, God’s created world has been corrupted and tainted with sin because of the serpent in chapter three of Genesis.
Therefore, since human beings have been separated from God and one another, He has called us to be holy. To be holy is to be separated from the world. We have been given the Holy Spirit to do so (John chapter 16, verses 7-15; 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 1-16).
Although we will never escape from the sinful nature that tempts us to do things in our own ways and to be a master of ourselves, the essential requirements for holiness are acknowledging our imperfections and surrendering ourselves before God.
Being holy is the process of perfecting oneself spiritually through faith in Christ, even though we will never reach perfection until His second coming.
The Example of Jesus
When Jesus was doing His ministry on earth, He was holy until the end of His physical life as He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He separated Himself from the world.
When Jesus knew that His time was coming to sacrifice His life, He could have destroyed those coming against Him and saved Himself. Instead, He obediently followed His calling even when He did not want to.
The main reason for this is that Jesus came into the world to bring redemption towards humanity through His sacrifice (Matthew chapter 26, verses 36-46; Luke chapter 22, verses 39-46).
Hence, Jesus Christ, the divine being, allowed Himself to be broken by taking the form of a human being, to reconcile all human beings with God through His sacrifice (Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14-18; Philippians chapter 2, verses 6-11).
God’s heart probably was broken too when He sent His only beloved Son, Jesus, into the world to pay the death penalty of all human beings through His sacrifice. Now, Jesus has been raised through God’s power and sat in God’s right hand to intercede them through the Holy Spirit.
Application
Nevertheless, God’s heart still has been broken for those who resist coming to Jesus and believing in Him as their Lord and Saviour. At the same time, He patiently waits for us to come to Jesus in repentance with humility and start to believe in Him (2 Peter chapter 3, verses 8-9).
Therefore, since none of us is perfect, let us start to acknowledge our brokenness and give that to God in prayer. In other words, let us surrender everything and whole lives to God, who is our Creator and heavenly Father!
After all, God’s word says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter chapter 5, verses 6-7)
The excellent prayer to pray is in Psalm chapter 139, verses 24-25.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Kevin Park is studying at Carey Baptist College and finds that Christian-writing is his ultimate will of God and his ultimate method to build the kingdom of God. He started to become a Christian writer from 2013. Other than his writing life, Kevin desires to see that each finds everlasting satisfaction in God, the Almighty. You will be able to contact him at [email protected]. He loves to encourage others spiritually.
Kevin Park’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/kevin-park.html