The Beauty of the Human Soul

I think it's interesting how much Jesus had to say about taxes. If we think taxes today are bad, it's hard to imagine how they must have been during His time. Tax collectors were hated, as Jews who had abandoned their families and communities, and become Roman workers. Taxes were often collected unfairly, for extra profits, and those who couldn't pay were given no mercy. One of my favorite stories about Jesus is when the Pharisees posed a question to him about this process, asking whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. I love His response: whose image is on the coin?

The coin was distinctive in its build; thick, heavy metal, with an unmistakable imprint on its face.

"Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's."

At first, this may seem like a clever lesson on the Biblical model for paying government dues. But look at the pattern Jesus sets, through His words; image defines belonging. Caesar's coins belonged to Him, because they had his image set upon them.

Humanity belongs to God, because He has set His image on us. 

Awhile ago, I was journaling and thinking about the value of the human soul. We had just talked about the question of when a life scientifically begins, in our psychology class, and it made me wonder... what is it that makes it matter at all?  Why does a human have value, regardless of age, or any other characteristic?

One of the strongest reasons, from the Christian worldview, is that God has made man in His image. God has placed His very heart into mankind; Paul writes that even non-believers have a sense of right and wrong, because God has placed His moral code on their hearts. Humans are image-bearers of the living God. I know we've heard that so many times... but have you stopped to think about what that actually means, in your life and the lives of those around you?

Each one of you will see at least one person this week. (I think I can count on that fact, even if you're a home schooler :))  Just think about what that means; you are interacting with a vessel formed in the image of the uncreated God of the universe. And look at yourself... that description holds true for your life, too. You are an image-bearer of God Himself.

That is your identity. You are His. It's something you've heard a thousand times, but how often does it register into reality, when it comes to your day to day life?  It's so easy to define yourself by the standards of the world. If that's where you find yourself, I would encourage you to sit down and make a list. Write down everything by which you're measuring your worth, and test it against what God has said about you. He calls you His beloved, His Lily among Thorns, His Rose of Sharon, His promised one, the one who ravishes His heart with one glance of your eyes, the one He was willing to shed His blood for. You are not your dress size, your grades, your hairstyle, your number of "likes" on social media. You are not what people think of you, say to you, or treat you as. You are His image-bearer.

And so is every person you interact with. Each human has the image of God on their hearts, and they are beautiful beyond imagination. I believe with all my heart that there is not a single person on earth who doesn't have some kind of depth to them. Maybe you haven't seen it, and maybe you never will. But God sees it. He sees everything about that person that you can't. There is an unspeakable, ravishing beauty inside each human soul, not because of anything they've done, but because of what has been done for them.

I love reading about how Mother Teresa approached this idea. Many people who talked with her later wrote that, when she was in a conversation with you, it seemed like there was not another human in the world, in her eyes. She was fully invested in and listening to you. She wrote that "Every person is Christ to me".

Think of the people you're going to see this week. Are you willing to see them through that lens?  Are you willing to see yourself that way?  You belong to Him; in the end, that is all that matters.

So give to God what is God's.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~ 

Worship Song: 

"Give Me Your Eyes",
by Brandon Heath