Sunday, November 15
Read Genesis 1:26, 27 and Genesis 5:1, 3. What do these texts teach about how God originally created humanity and then what happened to humanity after sin?
The phrase “the image of God” has captivated interpreters of the Bible for centuries. What is this image in which the first humans were created? For example, does it mean that God looked in a mirror and formed His new creation to look like Himself? Or does it mean that humans are more like God than all other forms of life are? Or does it refer to a spiritual and intellectual similarity and compatibility between the Creator and His human creation? The Scriptures do not give any precise explanation of this expression even though scholars have derived from Scripture many interpretations of what it could mean. However, we can see that, after sin, this image had been changed, which is why Ellen G. White wrote that the goal of education is to restore in man the image of his maker (Education, pp. 14-16).
How can education achieve such a remarkable goal?
First, we need to remember that God made us to have a relationship with Him, somewhat as parents do with their children. He made us in His image, the same way human parents have children in their image (Genesis 5:1), so that He can bring us up to be His children, who belong to His family; He can communicate with us and form a lasting relationship with us. The image of God therefore is more of a “mental image” that enables two beings, one divine and the other human, to have a meeting of minds. This is precisely what happens in education, first at home between parents and children, and later at school when teachers take over the work of education. Evidently God intended this process of education we know so well when, distinguishing us from many other life forms, He made us in His own image – He did it so that He can teach us and we can learn from Him, until His image (His mind) is reflected in ours.
The story of redemption is a story of education from creation to incarnation, and from incarnation to re-creation. God is a teacher, and heaven is a school for all time (see Ellen G. White, Education, p. 301). What are the implications of this thought for our commitment to Christian education at home, in church, in school, in the university, and throughout life?
