Clarify that image

I grew up in a happy home in which we ate well (my mother was a domestic arts teacher) and we prayed together, daily.

         We were constantly encouraged to ask, “What is God’s will for my life?” and to draw our answer from the Bible, just as Jen Wilkin does in her new book In His Image (Crossway, 2018). Her answer: “Be like the very image of God.”

         That response is rooted in Genesis 1:27, in which men and women are placed with loving concern, at the pinnacle of God’s creation—neither of them exalted nor depreciated. Both clearly valuable to Him.

         God expects all of us to take responsibility for the environment and the other creatures that share our planet. And, most important, God insists that all that He has created is good—very good!

         Wilkin dedicates her book to the American theologian R. C. Sproul, who, as she puts it, “taught profound truth in plain speech, and who dignified everyday disciples as capable theologians.”

         Happily, Wilkin works in a similar way. Speaking plainly on every page, and with an authority strengthened by 17 years as a Bible teacher and public speaker, she urges us to recognize our own potential as disciples with work to do.

         She suggests that by exploring ten characteristics of who God is—holy, loving, just, good, merciful, gracious, faithful, patient, truthful, and wise—we will be helped to understand who God intends for us to be.

         Then, Wilkin believes, “we will discover how God’s own attributes impact how we live, leading to freedom and purpose as we follow his will and are conformed to his image.”

         Expanding on those characteristics, Wilkin’s ten chapters offer verses for meditation, questions for reflection, and calls for related prayer.

         Deftly, this Texan drops in anecdotes from her own life as a wife and mother of four. And her conclusions are inspiring—and often gently amusing. Sometimes she disguises Bible stories to show their relevance to life today.

         Let me reshape and trim some of Wilkin’s observations:

         The hope of the gospel is that we will become better people, reflecting with increasing clarity and fidelity the very face of God.

         Holiness is not a crowd-pleaser. It means learning to think, speak, and act like Christ every hour of every day.

         Human love, even in its finest moments, can only whisper of the pure and holy love of God.

         In our scramble for justice, scorekeeping diverts our energies from living at peace with one another and seeking to serve.

         The good and perfect gift of Christ surpasses every other goodness we can know.

          Armed with even a few pages of that Wilkinesque wisdom, I’m 
convinced our lives can be transformed. And, in this book, Wilkin’s encouragement runs to 176 pages!