The Image

And just as we have borne the image of the man made of dust we will also bear the image of the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15:49

Did you ever hear the expression, “ugly as a mud fence?” Yes, I know it old and girls and guys have gotten a lot cuter over the years. You hardly ever see “someone as ugly as a mud fence.” But the expression came to mind this week as I was doing some light reading in 1 Corinthians. Take a look at Chapter 15, verse 49.

We bear the image of Adam, the man created out of the dust of the ground, according to Genesis 2:7. Isn’t it amazing what God can do with a little dust? And yet the Truth remains that the physical components of our being are not worth much. A few chemicals rightly placed, “a hank of hair and a piece of bone” in the hands of the Master, well, surely looks good on some folks.

The real value of our life comes, however, when we move from the image of the man of dust to the image of the Heavenly Man. The second man, the one from Heaven was not made at all. He is the Lord God, and we who are but dust can take on the image of God himself.

Now we all expect to do that when we get to Heaven (you are going, right?). But what progress are you making toward bearing the image of God now? How is it that you are being transformed from the “mud fence” of this world, to the Heavenly light of Glory? In the most simple of terms, is your life choked with the dust of sin which obscures the light of His presence, or are you being transformed by the Truth and Llove to a daily conformity to His Spirit’s leadership?

Now let me assure the scholars among you, I understand this passage is about the change in our natural body which through the resurrection will be transformed into a body fit for Heaven (the mortal putting on immortality and all that stuff), but still there is ample insight providing for a renewed image in our current circumstance.

How does it happen? You should be finding out through your study of God’s Word and the assistance that comes from the messages you hear at your Church that speak of the process of becoming mature in The Faith.

The sad Truth is that many of our lives, Spiritually speaking, are “ugly as a mud fence.” We’ve got more fleshly dust than Holy light. What if we make a commitment to change that, right now?