Man is created in the image of God

The original korean text: http://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025356698

 

(donga.com's netizen forum, Dec. 2, 2004)

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The national flag of a country stands for that country. The national sovereignty of the country lies where the national flag is placed. The first thing you do when you take a fortress in a battle is to set up the national flag on the top. The figures of kings or emperors symbolize the sovereignty of the sovereigns. So in the past, emperors built their own statues on the land they conquered. Sometimes they forced the people of an occupied country to worship the statues. Even now, the statues of Kim Il-sung, who is already deceased, are erected throughout North Korea. People in North Korea bow to, and lay flowers on the statue of Kim Il Sung. Thus king's statue represents the king himself.

 

In the Book of Genesis, it was proclaimed that the God created the man in his image. Of course, you can interpret this image in various ways. So you can interpret it like this: man's personality is similar to that of God. But it's not true that the God, being of pure spirit and having no physical body, has a similar appearance to that of man.

 

However, because the Bible declares that the man is the image of God, the privilege given to the man is tremendous! Here on earth, humans were created to live as God's image, the God who is the eternal King of the universe! No one can be rude to the statue of Kim Il Sung in North Korea. Likewise, any animal or even any man in the world can not insult or harm an individual who is the image of God. If a man commits such a presumptuous sin, God will punish him for the sake of his own honor. That is the meaning of the declaration that the man is the image of God. Therefore the Bible demands that anyone who killed intentionally a man should be executed without exception. (It is a matter of the sovereignty, honor and glory of the God. Murderers have challenged the God himself!) Though man is not God, God granted him God's dignity and authority! All of you should thank God for that privilege!

 

Therefore, every human being should treat the same other human being with the same love and respect as he shows God. In addition, one must live a holy life without forgetting that all human beings are created so precious. Responsibility and obligations are required of those who are given authority and blessing.

 

Man is obligated to live a sacred and noble life, and to fear only the Creator God. At the final judgment, God punishes those who neglected such responsibility and duty. on the one hand, the fact that we are created in the image of God is a great pride for us, and on the other hand, we have to realize that we must not lead a dissolute life without rein while taking pride in the image of God.