I am a Jesus pusher!!! “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder’” (Matthew 5:21). Why does Jesus begin with “murder?” Murder is a violent act that tries to destroy the image of God. God spoke all creation into being, but “formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Our structure has the fingerprints of God upon it. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”(Genesis 1:27). After the flood, God spoke to Noah the first Biblical law concerning murder. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). As Jesus expands this in our passage, “anger,” “Raca” (treating your brother as worthless), and calling him a “fool” (a stupid one) expresses contempt for the image of God in which He created man (Matthew 5:22).
What is the image of God? It is not the physical shape of our being. The biblical account highlights the essence of relationship. We are created beings capable of relationship with God’s nature; the rest of creation does not have this. The indication is that all creation has a connection with God through our relationship with Him. We are the critical element that links all creation to God. The Kingdom of Heaven is the fulfillment of the image of God! We are helpless. He comes in His resource, His nature, and with God, we become the Kingdom of Heaven. The capacity of this relationship is the heart of the image of God in our creation. Jesus wants to indwell me! I am a Jesus pusher!!!