An Iconic Life
Our word icon comes from the Greek eikōn, which means likeness. The Hebrew word tselem (image) is translated eikōn. God created humanity in his image, to have his likeness, to live an iconic life.
How can we live iconically? What does that look like? It looks like God. Fostering community, love, and unity is living iconically. To live a life of mission and service is iconic. Practicing humility, patience, and forgiveness is living iconically. Living an iconic life is about creating beauty, building safety, and cultivating equity. We’re ionic when we reflect the priorities and principles of our creator.
Unfortunately, we’re often more ironic than we are iconic, living a contradiction instead of His reflection. Sadly, throughout the bible and history, we see humanity failing epically to live iconically.
But then the Creator wrote Himself into our story, his story. He became one of the very icons he had created us to be. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8, NLT). “In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body, (Colossians 2:9, NLT). “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15-16, NLT). And now, “although we have all sinned, (missed the mark of what it means to be human) and fallen short of living iconic lives, God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:23-24, NLT).
Because Jesus was, is, and will forever be the most iconic person who’s ever lived, He has restored the image of God (Himself) in us. Now, even when I mess up and fail miserably because Christ was the perfect icon, I’m still iconic in God’s eyes. With the death and resurrection of the iconic Christ, the veil has been torn from top to bottom, so we “can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT).
God is calling you to be his icon. Start living iconically today.