If religion does not do this, it is junk religion. The single and true purpose of mature religion is to lead you to ever new experiences of your True Self. All you can do is thank Somebody Else, occasionally weep with joy, and kneel without any hesitation. You know it’s entirely a gift (see Ephesians 2:8-9 and throughout Paul’s writings). You simultaneously know you are a son or daughter of God, but you also know that you didn’t earn it and you are not worthy of it. Paradoxically, immense humility, not arrogance, characterizes the True Self. Maybe we realize subconsciously that if we really recognized our True Self-which is the Divine Indwelling, the Holy Spirit within us-if we really believed that we are temples of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19 2 Corinthians 6:16), then we would have to live up to this incredible dignity, freedom, and love. If you are merely human, you will tend to reject your embarrassingly limited humanity. There is so much contrary evidence! Are we afraid to bear the burden of divinity? It is precisely the divine part of you that is great enough, deep enough, gracious enough to fully accept the human part of you. Jesus revealed and accepted a paradox: human and divine are not separate, but one! Why do we resist this destiny? For most of us, this seems just too good and too dangerous to be true. “You were chosen in Christ before the world was made-to stand before God in love-marked out beforehand as fully adopted sons and daughters” (Ephesians 1:4-5). You (and every other creation of God) begin with your unique divine DNA, an inner destiny as it were, an absolute core that knows the truth about you, a true believer tucked away in the cellar of your being, an imago Dei that begs to be allowed, to be fulfilled, and to show itself. This is the basis for God’s justice: Since everyone is made in the image of God, then we need to recognize, honor, and respect the image of God in everyone. You are created in the image of God from the very beginning (Genesis 1:26-27). Grace builds on nature it does not avoid or destroy nature. Searching for and rediscovering the True Self is the fundamentum, the essential task that will gradually open us to receiving and giving love to God, others, and ourselves, and thus to live truly just lives. You Are the “Imago Dei” Wednesday, June 20, 2018
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