At the creation of mankind, God points out that our species is created in the image of God. It seems as though the vast majority of the readers of these words view this as a lofty position without fully considering the meaning of ‘image’. To provide a mundane illustration, consider the image of an automobile. If the actual car is in a well lit showroom a full size mirror can provide a great way to reveal the details of the car. More than likely you will be able to note the exact color. Having the doors open would provide a view of the interior and again with good lighting an observer should be able to make out the color and from the texture might be able to deduce the material. The stereo and sound system could be determined, along with the position of the key, the ignition, shift mechanism and transmission. The layout of the dash and is gauges should be visible. And this is just the start. With some access to viewing the undercarriage, that could be seen to get an idea of the suspension. Of course the hood should be opened, and you could take a look at the engine, battery, alternator, etc. If we remember to have the trunk open we could inspect that, in fact this should tell us a lot about the car and just keeping this is mind, we should recognize that since we are in the image of God we are clearly quite powerful, knowledgeable, imaginative, creative, kind with potentially great foresight. If the mirror next to the car is carefully positioned it might even be possible for someone to mistake the image of the car with the car itself.
And so I think more that a few people almost mistake man for a God. Of couse a human being would never equate himself with God, right? But Pharaoh considered himself not just Ruler of Egypt but God of his people. He was hardly the only one. Until the end of World War II, the Emperor of Japan considered himself God as did millions of Japanese. They were not able to distinguish the difference in being God and being created in the ‘image’ of God. Their own likeness and attributes led them to a tragic conclusion. This delusion allows these rulers to order slavery or death on nothing more than a whim. If a person were to be given a set of keys and told that the car was available for a test drive and nearly perfect in everyway except that he might need to shove the key into the door since that was a little tight, he could mistakenly attempt to unlock the door of the mirage. That would very likely lead to the shattering of the entire mirror and of course the differences would be apparent. So a mirage in fact is very little more than illusion and we are the image of God only for a time. Although we may create, God is the Creator; we may know something, God is All-knowing. We can see, but God is All-Seeing. We are always only moments away from being revealed as being just a mirage. This is also the perspective we should gain from considering that we are in the image of God. In this generation far too many people forget that their purpose in life is to make a favorable impression on the God who created the image, and believe success is achieved by making an impression on their fellow man totally forgetting such success becomes, like themselves, an illusion and too soon nothing more than a hollow mirage.