Image

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:28-31 NIV)

Back in the day when Andre Agassi was a force in men’s tennis, he was a spokesman for Canon cameras.  The slogan used in his commercials was, “Image Is Everything.”  Years later he revealed in his autobiography, Open, that this slogan summed up his life.  Early in his career, he was known for his long flowing hair.  He writes that as his hair began to fall out, he began wearing a wig.  He blamed that wig for a loss at Wimbledon because it began to come loose during a match and he worried that it would literally fly off in front of everyone!  His book reveals how different his life was from the image he portrayed and was portrayed for him, and he admits he was miserable trying to keep up the image.  

What motivates us to strive for a certain image?  We may never be famous, but the creating and keeping of an image is not restricted to celebrities.  We can construct images for our friends, our families, and our employers.  And sometimes those images are contradictory.  I have known students who, to their families, they are upstanding, godly people, but have a vastly different image among their friends on campus.  What is it that drives us to create certain images of ourselves for other people?  

Jesus, I think, gives us a hint in this passage.  We are fearful of what people are going to think about us.  For the student who is living a duplicitous life, she does not want to disappoint either her parents or her friends.  So she creates a dual image in order to please both of them.  

Jesus says, in essence, we should be much more concerned about our image before God, what He thinks, than the opinions of anyone else.  For it is He who has our eternal destiny in His hands.  But He also says something else that is so important to hear: He values us more than anything else in all of creation.  He loves each of us deeply.  So we should care most about what He thinks of us.  Other people can think what they want.

Today, what image are you trying to convey and whom are you trying to impress?  If it is anything but the real you and for anyone other than the Lord, then know you are missing the mark.  For it is God that holds you in the highest value and it is He who holds the keys to Eternity.  What He thinks of you is really all that matters.

© Jim Musser 2013