Looks Can Be Deceiving

In a recent local radio broadcast I listened to several segments where the upcoming presidential race was discussed. Dominating these segments was the idea that one of the candidates could not win because “he doesn’t look presidential.” At first I wondered, if television had been around throughout American history would Taft, Lincoln or the Roosevelts ever have been elected? Then I passed it all off as an attempt at a humorous spot. Upon further reflection, however, I believe it could be better described as a commentary on current American thought. Image is pervasive in our culture today. Subsumed in all the advertisements we see in all the various outlets is the question: Who am I? If my appearance is intended to express my true self, then it seems rather important to first know who I really am. But how do I respond? It wouldn’t do for me to say that I am a male approximately six feet four inches tall, approximately 190 pounds with a beard, a fairly conservative dresser who wears contact lenses and parts his hair to the right. You see the dilemma. This is only a description of my personage, not a definition of who I am. Likewise, I could not adequately respond by saying I am a husband, a father, or an engineer. Again, these are only descriptions of my family and my vocation, not answers to who I am.

So then, who am I? According to popular thought, I am a product of time and chance; a series of drives and reactions where the old adage "what you see is what you get" would most certainly apply. Perhaps Shakespeare was right when he wrote "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." Perhaps we are right in busying ourselves presenting the image we want others to see; but alas, this is the very thing we wish to avoid. “Don't look to my appearance, accept me for who I am.” But wait, I am defined by how I present myself, and on and on. This is the downward spiral of despair that sends so many, especially our young men and women, into fits of depression and even to thoughts of suicide. So then, who am I?

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." I am a creation of the Triune God, made by Him and in His image. Could there be any greater value and meaning for my life? Perhaps William Blake, not Shakespeare, had it right when he said, "This life's dim windows of the soul distorts the Heavens from pole to pole and leads you to believe a lie when you see with, not through, the eye." In our misguided attempts to be inclusive and accepting, we look at people and strive to set aside differing qualities. When the crippled man was lowered through the roof by his friends, Jesus first forgave him of his sins. Jesus allowed a woman of ill repute to wash His feet with her hair, and then announced her sins are forgiven. Jesus did not look at the image people wore, He looked through them to the image they bore: the image of the Father. That is why He first forgave their sins. They bore the image of God, but were slaves to their sinful nature and unaware of that truth. Likewise, when we accept Christ as Lord of our lives, we begin to understand the truth, and see each other as He sees us: as bearers of Gods image. Why would we settle for the lie that we are what we wear when we could accept the truth that we bear the very image of God?

Whether we are contemplating the political arena, cultural and sociological issues or simple day to day life, at some point we must answer the question: Who am I? Colossians 3:7-11 says, "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." We have a choice to make: will we be image wearers or image bearers?