Imago Dei

I am not a coin collector; however, I have kept some coins in a little post office box piggy bank over the years. They do not have a lot of value other than sentimental value to me. I have a 1-franc coin from France and a 1-Deutschemark coin from Germany. I have a 50-öre (or half a krona) Swedish coin and a 20-groszy coin from Poland. Being of Polish, German, and Swedish descent, I just find them neat to have. I also have several of the old-style American one-dollar coins. The big ones, before the US minted the Susan B. Anthony dollar, which is the same size as today’s quarter.

Looking at my coins the other day reminded me of Matthew 22:17-22, when the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus by asking Him, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus knew their evil motives. ‘You hypocrites!’ he said. ‘Why are you trying to trap me? Here, show me the coin used for the tax.’ When they handed him a Roman coin, he asked, ‘Whose picture and title are stamped on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. ‘Well, then,’ he said, ‘give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.’ His reply amazed them, and they went away.”

Do you know Whose picture and title are stamped onto you? The Bible says in Genesis 1:27, “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Every single one of us have been stamped with the Imago Dei, Latin for “image of God.” We belong to Him. Even after we rejected Him and disobeyed Him, He bought us back. Not brought us back. He bought us back. The Bible says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

What does that mean? It means you have value to God. Not just sentimental value. Real value. Would God have sent His Son to die for you for purely sentimental reasons? Absolutely not. He bought you back at the price of His one and only Son because He loves you. Even in the midst of pain, tragedy or illness remember how much you mean to God. How much value He places on you. Because of who we are, and Whose we are, we should be honoring God with what we do, what we say. How we live and how we love. His image is stamped on you, and you have untold value to Him. Give to God what belongs to God.        

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