Life in God's Image

Rembrandt's Storm on Sea of Galilee

Don't we wish we always had the wisdom to distinguish what's really important? Our faith proclaims that our ultimate purpose is to live in relationship with God forever. That is why St. Paul urges us to “think of what is above.”  (Col 3:2).

The bible gives many splendid images of God. A walking companion, a God as tender as a mother. The image in the parables of the Good Shepherd and the prodigal son is balanced with the image of the last judgment. All these splendid images cannot capture fully the reality of God.

In his letter to the Christian community at Rome, Paul speaks about the Spirit or energy of God dwelling within us. When we pray “Come, Holy Spirit,” we are praying for a greatly increased sense of that presence. Paul asks us to be aware of the presence of the Spirit in our daily lives. We are “living temples of God.”

In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Good and evil, sin and virtue, live together. God is patient, tolerating evil alongside good. The harvest will come, when we will see clearly our true from our false self. Jesus proclaims loudly that good will triumph over evil.  

One of the biggest obstacles to faith in God is the suffering of the innocent. Think, for example, of Syria.  The Book of Job attempted to grapple with the problem. If God loves us, how come there is so much suffering in the world, so much injustice and violence? There are no easy answers. Yet God meets us in the midst of struggles. In fact, people who have gone through the greatest suffering often have strong faith. They testify to the presence of God within, strengthening and comforting them in the midst of pain.

In her book “The Hiding Place,” Corrie ten Boom describes how her sister, dying in a concentration camp, said, “We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still. They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been there.” These sisters trusted in God despite the ugliness they witnessed.

How do we respond to injustice? The biblical psalmist trusted that God ultimately will put things right. In the meantime, we are called to do everything within our power to see that justice is done.

There are times when we face major challenges to our faith. St. Paul, for example, was shipwrecked three times. In one scene, a hurricane appeared. Yet, Paul kept on trusting in God. This crisis gave Paul, a prisoner, an opportunity to speak about his faith to his captors. (Acts 27) And he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat...and they took some food themselves. All reached shore safely.

Whatever challenges we face, trust that God will be with us in whatever God asks us to do.