So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).
Are you a dog person or a cat person? While this is a fairly common question, let’s face it, there are differences in owning these two domesticated animals as pets, and the jokes that go with it can be endless.
Of course, there is absolutely no reason you cannot be both, but that doesn’t change the inherent nature of the pets. Dogs and cats have fundamentally different, opposite, personalities that often result in entirely different relationships with their human owners.
Dogs are much more human-oriented — they wag their tails at any word that perks up their ears. Food. Ride. Park. Walk. You name it, a dog will instantly recognize the sound of their favorite thing. Dogs are social creatures — playful and friendly.
My wife and I are beagle lovers. With that comes a certain expectation of ownership — chow hound, howling at anything that moves, walks with their nose to the ground (We had friends who named their beagle Hoover! Hilarious and appropriate at the same time).
Dogs can’t wait for their owners to get home after a long day at work — greeting their loved ones with wagging tails and excitement.
Cats on the other hand seem to tolerate humans. Cats are typically much more independent than are dogs, and don’t particularly seem to need, or want your love and affection.
Oh sure, they will sometimes “allow” you to pet them, but be warned — when they have had enough, they are quite likely to lightly bite, or in some other way let you know when they are done.
Cats seem to possess particular disdain for dogs and are not afraid to show it. The facial expression on a cat is permanently affixed, regardless of the circumstance or mood.
Dogs may be man’s best friend, while cats are man’s sort of weird, independent roommate.
In short, this describes the essence of dogs and of cats. Their essentialism. Of course, not every dog or cat necessarily holds to this essence. There are exceptions to every rule, even essentialism.
Essentialism, our essence, is what makes us who and what we are, deep in our heart of hearts. Our soul. Our true selves. It can be determined by a rather odd combination of nature and nurture — by who we are combined with how, and where, we were raised. But it was not always that way.
Does Essentialism Apply to Humans?
In our physical world, there are a great many different living creatures. Each of these seems to have quite distinct characteristics.
A bee, for example, is quite different than a mosquito — though both possess an annoying habit of being able to inflict pain on a human. Clearly, God created all creatures and seemed to assign them different roles in all creation (Genesis 1:24-25).
According to their kinds. We too have our own essence — our own essentialism. But human beings are different than creatures. God created man on the sixth day and chose to create man in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27).
Thus, in the beginning, the spirit of mankind was to be image bearers of God, our Creator. Nothing else in all of creation bears that image. That life, that essence, was to be our fundamental nature — right up until it all changed. Our nature changed. Our very essence changed.
When Adam and Eve chose to go their own way and not follow God, our essential nature was altered forever. Rather than an eternal life with the fruit of the Spirit, we lived with a new nature — a sinful nature.
Adam hid because he knew he was naked — something he was entirely unaware of previously (Genesis 3:10). God then changed the relationship with all of mankind. We lost what had been essential to our very beings (Genesis 3:16-19).
And then God banished them from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23).
And yet, it remains that we continue to bear the image of God, though now hidden.
What Is Our Essence Now?
That humans are intended to be the image-bearers of God means that we are moral creatures, as is God. We possess a conscience, which directs our steps and helps us know right from wrong. Paul put it this way:
They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them (Romans 2:15).
We have retained an inherent understanding of right and wrong. Our thoughts, our hearts, accuse us, or perhaps justify us, based on our understanding of good and evil.
This is an essential and distinguishing characteristic of being human — and comes as a direct result of being made in God’s image.
Since the Fall our essence may be cloaked, but it is not entirely lost. Our true nature is there, but it is now obscured by all the world has to offer.
As we seek to find our true selves, while our minds may be unaware of the true reason for the search, our souls are not. The problem is that too many people now search for that essence in all the wrong places.
Drugs, alcohol, sex, money, career success. “…everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The NLT version puts it this way:
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father but are from this world.
As a result of the Fall of Man and our inherited sinful nature, we find a great many people today who try to replace our essentialism with false identities — creating a search for “who they are.” We hear countless people talk about “finding themselves.”
There are those who make an argument for essentialism to be found in various minorities and even sexual identities. These seem to be in the news almost every day. They seek a false self — bogus essentialism that leads only down the wrong path.
Fr. Richard Rohr, a Catholic priest, puts it this way, “The false self is your psychological creation of yourself in space and time. It comes from your early conditioning, family, roles, education, mind, culture, and religion. The false self is who you think you are! But thinking doesn’t make it so. The false self dies and passes away.”
There is truth in this statement.
Where Is Our Essence to Be Rediscovered?
While “essentialism” is not strictly a biblical concept, we must be aware that there exist forms of essentialism that argue distinct, essential features and differences among the physical creatures, but do not agree with the biblical belief of humans as bearing God’s image. Any such theory or form of essentialism is empty deceit and a human construct.
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ(Colossians 2:8).
That said, rediscovering our true nature, our true selves, our essence, is found in none other the Christ Jesus. To be born again of his Spirit. To regain our essentialism. To again become children of the Most High God.
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:5).
For further reading:
How Are We Made in the Image of God?
What Does 'Imago Dei' Mean? The Image of God in the Bible
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Jorm Sangsorn
Greg doesn’t pretend to be a pastor, a theologian, or a Bible expert, but offers the perspective of an everyday guy on the same journey as everyone else – in pursuit of truth.
Greg can be reached by email or on Facebook @ Greg Grandchamp - Author.
