In what ways do human beings reflect God?

Upvote:0

LDS:

We are created in Gods image in the most literal sense:

Ether 3:16 (Christ speaking)

Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/ether/3.p16#p16

Moses 6:8-9

8 Now this prophecy Adam spake, as he was moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and a genealogy was kept of the children of God. And this was the book of the generations of Adam, saying: In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

9 In the image of his own body, male and female, created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created and became living souls in the land upon the footstool of God.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/6.p8-p9#p8

In the comment you asked what we should aspire to, spiritually, to purify our being and become like God. The obvious answer is follow Jesus Christ and do as he would do.

What you ask is, for example, subject of Alma 5, in the Book of Mormon:

Alma 5:19

19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/5.p19#p19

Alma 5:26-33

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a achange of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the bsong of redeeming love, I would ask, ccan ye feel so now?

27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves ablameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently bhumble? That your garments have been ccleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to dredeem his people from their sins?

28 Behold, are ye stripped of apride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.

29 Behold, I say, is there one among you who is not stripped of aenvy? I say unto you that such an one is not prepared; and I would that he should prepare bquickly, for the hour is close at hand, and he knoweth not when the time shall come; for such an one is not found guiltless.

30 And again I say unto you, is there one among you that doth make a amock of his brother, or that heapeth upon him persecutions?

31 Wo unto such an one, for he is not prepared, and the atime is at hand that he must repent or he cannot be saved!

32 Yea, even wo unto all ye aworkers of iniquity; repent, repent, for the Lord God hath spoken it!

33 Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto aall men, for the barms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/5.p26-33#p26

And, of course, this answer is not complete without mentioning that Jesus told us a lot about what we ought to do / how we ought to be in the Sermont on the Mount:

Matthew 5 (whole chapter, but I only cite the last one here):

48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/5?lang=eng

Upvote:1

In what ways do human beings reflect God?

The ways we as human beings should in some way reflect the image of our Divine Creator. This may be done in many ways.

To start with let love Jesus with all our heart.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

God has created the heavens and the earth and as such we should be good stewards of his creations. That means we should do the following:

  • Do not pollute.
  • Respect and show dignity to all life.
  • Do not waste what God has given us, in our daily life and try to maintain the earth in good fashion at all times, in our own little ways.

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:6

We should also imitate Our Lord Jesus Christ to the best best of our ability. He is after all the way to the truth and the life.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9

As God is love, we should not only love one another, but also our enemies and pray for the conversion of sinners. These things God desires us to do and we should with all our hearts!

St. Athanasius of Alexandria offered a beautiful image for this teaching. He imagined that each human life was a portrait of God. Because of spiritual blindness, most of these portraits were poorly executed. Some even suffered from outside forces that tarnished and damaged the canvas or frame. Instead of discarding the portraits, God sent the son to sit as a model for a second painting. The incarnate son gives us a clearer image of the divine after which to fashion our lives.

Our great work, then, is to model our lives on the life of Jesus in the Gospels. In today’s Gospel passage, the beatitudes guide our brushstrokes. Each beatitude is a path to grace, and each time we live one out, the image of Christ shines through a little brighter.

This is no easy task. Although each beatitude promises a different encounter with grace, the path to each of those encounters often comes through suffering. This is the paradox of Christian life. To encounter the grace we desire, we have to face struggles we might otherwise have tried to avoid. Some of these are the struggles of human existence: poverty, grief, humiliation. Others are struggles we take on to advance the kingdom: living righteously, making peace with and among enemies, showing mercy. Although some of these actions might require exceptional effort, none require extraordinary searching. Opportunities to live the beatitudes come our way each day. It is up to us to accept the grace that is being offered.

These beatitudes are insights from Jesus’ own spiritual life. He struggled in the ways he describes, but in each struggle he found the grace he promises us. Many of the great saints typify one or more of the beatitudes. St. Francis of Assisi, son of a wealthy family, founded an entire spiritual tradition around poverty—Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven! St. Catherine of Siena braved an assassination attempt and worked tirelessly to end division in the church—Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God! St. Ignatius Loyola, whose dynamic interior life both fascinated and frightened him, developed spiritual techniques to keep his attention fixed on God—Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God! St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who lived in obscurity, has shared her love of Christ with people all over the globe—Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land!

The church understands the fundamental ministry of the saints to be holiness itself. This is holiness as Jesus taught it: to stand with the poor and meek, to mourn and show mercy, to burn with a desire to set the world aright and establish peace, to struggle and suffer for God and for each other, and in so doing to become a little more like God, who became like one of us. - How can we reflect the image of God?

Remember you are man and be faithful to the Gospels.

More post

Search Posts

Related post