Mark 12:16-17 They brought the coin, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
Jesus taught principles with parables. During the ministry journey of Jesus, hypocrites, Pharisees and Herodians came to trick Jesus with questions and to trap Him with His answers. They questioned Him if it was lawful to pay tax to the Romans. Jews were under the Roman rulership at that time. If Jesus had answered ‘yes’, He would become an enemy to the common Jews but if He had said “no”, He would have fallen into the hands of the Roman rulers. Since the image of Caesar was on the coin, He said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Romans owned the coins on which the face of Caesar was embossed. Jesus answered their question by establishing the principle of ownership and image.
Every product has a unique image. Currency of each country has a unique image. Image is the symbol of ownership. As the little emblem in the front of the car determines if the car is a Ford or Ferrari, the symbol of the image in us determines whom we belong to. We are created in His image and hence we belong to Him. The inscription of His Word is over our lives hence, we belong to Him. We could be wallowing in the dirt of sin, yet His image is in our spirit hence we belong to Jesus. The ownership of the Father cannot be detached, disconnected or disintegrated from us as the DNA of Jesus is in us.
Three truths that flow from the principle of image & ownership.
1. Tutor: Our success is God’s reputation. Parents teach their children principles, standards and morals from a very young age to mould them morally and spiritually; so does the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. He guides, leads, coaches, corrects, channels and conducts us into the path of righteousness. Psalms 23:3 He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Our name is His name, our victory is His victory and our success is His success as we are created in His image.
2. Test: Our performance is God’s reputation. We are His product, hence we cannot fail. All reputed manufacturers would test their products before they are available for sale on the shelves of the supermarkets. The tests and trials that we face are to reshape our lives to truly reflect the nature of Jesus on earth. If we fail a test, there is no automatic promotion, we would have to re-sit the test of forgiveness, love, patience, gentleness and so on. Our behaviour, conduct and performance is God’s reputation.
3. Testify: Our testimony is God’s reputation. Everything that we have and are is from Him and in Him. There is nothing that we can boast about outside Him. We must testify Him emphatically through our lives. We are the only Bible that some people read, so our lives must be a truthful and transparent representation of Jesus.
We resemble our parents because we inherit genetic information from them in our genes, similarly, we are created in the image of God and share the genes and DNA of Jesus. You can fail but can never become a failure as you are created in the image of God. The principle of Image & Ownership establishes that our success is God’s success and our performance is God’s reputation.
Romans 8:15 You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Prayer: Heavenly Father I can rest in the assurance that helping me succeed, overcome and conquer is your reputation as I am created in your image. I must decrease and you must increase in my life. Amen
Leave a Reply