The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can
understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9; ESV)
Humans are complex creatures. That shouldn't be surprising,
since we are made in the image of a complex God. Scholars debate what being
made in the image of God is all about. It's difficult to determine, since as
far as I can tell, nowhere in Scripture is it clearly defined. One way we might
go about understanding this is by looking at how the Bible describes both the
characteristics of God and of humans. I think it is reasonable to assume that
those human characteristics that reflect God's own are due to being made in his
image. Where else would they come from?
A related topic has to do with how sin and its consequences
affect God's image. Some think that evil has completely eradicated it, but I
don't think that is correct. The prohibition against murder given to Noah is
based on our being made in God's image (see Bereshit / Genesis 9:5-6). I
believe it is most correct to say that the image of God in people is still
present, but is essentially marred by evil. This helps to explain the reality
of goodness, love, and compassion in human experience and our continuing
struggle with selfishness, pride, greed, and evil fantasies.
One of the common characteristics shared by both God and
people is desire. Both God and people have the capacity to want. The difference
between us and God, however, is that while his wants are completely pure and
good, ours are mixed at best. People can and do have true godly desires, but
sin constantly pulls us in a selfish, evil direction.
If we take the verse I quoted from this week's Haftarah out
of context, letting it stand on its own, we might conclude that our hearts are
such that it is impossible to have pure desires of any kind. But I don't think
that is what God is saying through the prophet Jeremiah here, especially if we
look at the verse's context. The point being made here isn't so much that we
can never desire anything good, but that the conditions of our hearts are such
that we cannot accurately discern our motives. This means we, just like God,
are filled with desires, but the desires themselves provide no help whatsoever
in determining which ones are good and which ones are not.
It is in this same book of the Bible that God gives his
people a most wonderful promise that addresses this. The resolution of the sin
problem that prevented Israel from being the people God called them to be would
be accomplished through the internalization of Torah (see Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Properly understood, Torah is the teaching and direction of God. God promised
that he would write his Torah on our hearts. This is similar to Ezekiel's
prophesy about God swapping our heart of stone for a heart of flesh, resulting
in a new ability to obey him (see Ezekiel 36:22-31).
But does this experience mean that now our hearts can be
trusted? Does the transforming work of God through the Messiah Yeshua so
completely heal our diseased hearts that the sheer presence of a desire
indicates a godly want? If so, then we should be encouraged to follow our
hearts wherever they may lead us. After all didn't David write "Delight
yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Tehillim / Psalm 37:4;
ESV)? Certainly he did, and I do believe that if we delight in the Lord, our
desires can reflect God's own heart. But remember what the issue is in our
beginning verse: it is the heart's deceitfulness. One of the ways this
deceitfulness is expressed is by telling us that every desire we have should be
acted upon. While through the Messiah the Torah is internalized, this doesn't
make every impulse we have automatically good and godly. Through the Scriptures
we learn God's ways. By his forgiveness and the power of the Ruach HaKodesh
(English: the Holy Spirit) we are empowered to live godly lives. But we need to
pay attention to his direction. Otherwise we are simply driven by desire, not
led by God's Spirit.
3 comments:
It is my understanding that Adam was created in the image of God; but from there on people were created in Adam's image, which is why we are created in sin, since he fell to sin.
Humans are born being in Adam and inherit his sin nature. Believers are in the Messiah. Neither of these states have to do with whether or not the image of God is still an essential part of what it means to be human. As I mentioned in this TorahBytes message, the prohibition against murder is based on our being made in God's image, not that we used to be (Bereshit / Genesis 9:5-6). Also Paul makes a general statement about man when he writes, "For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man." (1 Cor. 11:7).
awesome alan! nice clear trail through a deep and complex issue into a straightforward solid conclusion. I think the subject is deemed worthy of further trails..:)
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