Image we live by

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Department of Liberal Education

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

4 September 2012

           Ever read the fact that God created us in His image? And many of us thought, wow, am I looking like God? All but. Never is it as clear to me what it meant as these days. The role of image in our lives are a very essential one for living. In fact, none of us lives apart from image. The question is image of what?

           Our brains are filled with images of all kinds of people and objects. For K-pop teens their minds are filled with images of their K-pop stars. For a Lexus car owner his mind is filled with comparisons with Mercedes Benz current models. Leisure Sports students’ minds are filled with this swimmer or that soccer-player. Children’s minds are filled with images of Spiderman or other characters from the children TV programs in the evenings.

           If it just stays there, it would have been fine, namely, if it was just an innocent memory of this fan, this idol, that sportsman, this car, it would have been no problem. But, here is where the problem starts: the image influence our lives and our lives are navigated by the image.

           The Kindergarten child plays out his image by jumping around like “Spiderman”. He “becomes” Spiderman. All the qualities and rights, powers, prerogatives belonging to Spiderman, is now his. All others around him, should know that he wishes to be known as Spiderman, and feared, respected and greeted as such. The image in the brain had far-reaching effects on his actions.

           The Lexus driver sits in his car and imagines that people in the streets are looking twice with respect and wonder at him just as people look twice and wonder for a passing Mercedes Benz. The silver or white wealth that it is projecting in observers’ eyes, is what the driver and owner of the Lexus wants to experience. People drive a car and a specific car because of the image in their minds about themselves, improved, changed, renewed in the minds of others, just because of the stylish car.

           A “Rain” looking student, dress, cut his hair, pluck his eyebrows, de-hair his face just like “Rain” because many people told him, that he looks like “Rain”. And now he does. The image has become part of his daily living for watching many videos about the famous Korean actor, he is now a walking clone of “Rain” and everyone treats him with respect, awe, wonder. His whole life change because of this image he is now projecting and others perceive.

           Many years ago there was a Kung-fu fan at my college. He was a high-school boy but he was a Bruce Lee fan. In his room was a picture of Bruce Lee and he was practicing the sticks almost hourly in his free time. He cut his hair like Lee, his body looked like Lee and he was determined to reach his standard. The image became part of his life and he had to watch what he eats in order to keep his body shape intact.

           There are young pastors who respect this or that evangelist or professor and they cut their hair, dressed alike and even speak and pray the same style as the image they are following.

           In the USA and Norway, mass-murderers admitted the role of PC games and its images had on their minds. They committed murder because of the images that appealed to their minds, it appears.

           People are made to live according to an image. Surrounding faithful members in a church with scenes of Christ or Mary or Paul or Peter or any other scene, is not what God had in mind for the remnant. Icons and paintings or sculptures is taboo in church. That is why the Ten commandments makes a prohibition against making “a graven image, or likeness that is in heaven above or that is on the earth, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them” (Exodus 20:4).

           The hardest thing for us is to fight the images in our brain that controls us. And images do, as we have pointed out above.

           To restore the image of God in our lives, means that we need to update ourselves daily, almost hourly with information about God, His revelation, His word. The more we know, the more we see, the more images we can imagine of what happened in the past. And it is by these images, that we are not to concretize, or making sculptures to worship, but which we respect, admire and think about, that we are saved. This is the good image, the one in control of the Holy Spirit and which controls our lives and becomes a new image of God in our lives by which we live.

           We need to ask ourselves pertinent questions: what is the most important thing in my life? Secretly. Privately. What is the image of that important thing or person that is in my brain? How far am I controlled by the presence or arrival of that person or thing in my mind and what effects do it or him/her has on my mind? Is the image of that person or thing “Holy Spirit” baptized and clean? If the answer is positive, that image is living in the image of God. But, if that image is derogatory, evil, distracting from the Word of God and Worship of God, then it is not the image of God.

           In Deuteronomy 13:4 God wants us to walk after Yahweh. Why? Because we must imitate God. Paul also said that we should follow God (Ephesians 5:1). The members of Thessalonians became followers of Paul and Peter and of Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

The Dutch Theologian De Boer was a “imitating God” denier for the Old Testament (De Boer 1962: 38) but the Old and New Testaments are clear on this aspect. As La Rondelle indicated, Israel’s perfection was their imitation of God (Perfection 1971: 105).

           The image of God in the Old Testament is the father-son relationship that the faithful has with God (a view of La Rondelle but also that of Berkhouwer and Vriezen). The imitation of God lies in the image of God that is in the Sabbath command of Exodus 20:8-11 (contra De Boer 1962).

           We are to walk after Yahweh, obey His voice, serve Him and cleave to Him” (Deuteronomy 13:4).

           Where does cleaving to a K-pop idol, hyper excitement for meeting a sport-star, proud satisfaction driving an expensive shiny car fit into this scenario? That is a private matter and each one is affected their own way by their own idols or images. We live by those images but if it is the Word of God that we are following, there are less problems.