Growing up and working almost my entire life in the entertainment industry, I have constantly been around those whose lives are all about the image they present to their audience. From hairstyles to makeup, clothes to the brand of tools they use in their art, it’s all about keeping up and maintaining the image. But being behind the scenes I have had the privilege to know and hang out with many “stars” and see them when they were not on. More often than not, the image they are known for and the ‘real person’ is very different from each other. Privately most are almost always much smaller than the image they have come to be known as. Just like everyone else, they have the same challenges and difficulties we all face. But one of the tragic side effects of those whose lives are built upon an image is their proclivity towards being personally haunted in a way; and very often tormented. Many times to the degree that they are not able to lead normal lives. For them, normal is not who they really are, but for whom they have portrayed themselves as.
As I stood behind the drum riser at a recent show I attended, watching throngs of adoring fans pressing frantically towards the stage as they raised their hands in the air longingly towards the band and in one rhythmic motion with the music, I suddenly found myself standing in the silent gaze of an epiphany. At that moment, for the very first time, I saw things as they really were and not as they appeared to be. My eyes began to swell with tears as a deep and profound sadness flooded over me. Suddenly I understood!
Nothing has ever changed since the fall until now… man prefers worshipping the creature and the creation rather than the Creator of all things from whom he came. We make gods of men. At that moment I not only realized how difficult it is for those being worshipped; but also the tragic reality that those worshipping have no idea what they were doing, they cannot comprehend the depths of their own depravity as they do. But ignorance, in this case, is not bliss.
First, let’s set the record straight: Man was created ‘IN THE IMAGE’ of the One who has no beginning and no end! Man IS NOT the original, but a mere reflection of the Original.
There is no other God and Creator but the One, YHVH (pronounced YaH-Weh) and His Son, Y’shua/Jesus, and the entirety of His creation is subject to Him, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! The four living creatures around His throne continuously bear this out in their declaration, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY! WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME!”
First, let’s set the record straight: Man was created ‘IN THE IMAGE’ of the One who has no beginning and no end! Man IS NOT the original, but a mere reflection of the Original.
There is no other God and Creator but the One, YHVH (pronounced YaH-Weh) and His Son, Y’shua/Jesus, and the entirety of His creation is subject to Him, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! The four living creatures around His throne continuously bear this out in their declaration, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY! WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME!”
We cannot comprehend the beauty of His majesty or the glory of His splendor. It is unfathomable in our fallen state. If we had just one glimpse, one split second to gaze upon it with our eyes so that we might become enlightened in the understanding of our finite state, we would come apart, crushed by the very weight of thinking that we who were created by Him and for Him, would ever worship or glorify anything but the Uncreated Holy One Himself. Yet we do it, day in and day out.
I was reminded of the verse in Isaiah where it says, “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the Potter be esteemed as the clay; shall the thing made say of Him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of Him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?” But arrogantly, we do this very thing.
We live in a generation of incredible technology advancements, the rise of artificial intelligence that inspires a culture to be visually and viscerally charged. We are utterly obsessed with the image. Whether it’s obsessive dieting and exercising, image altering plastic surgery or liposuction; collagen and botox injections to bizarre body art and insane piercings, they are all ways of attracting attention to ourselves as we seek love, adoration, and approval. From politicians to athletes, movie stars to rock stars, and yes, even religious celebrities… the list goes on and on leaving no one out. Our obsession with the image portrayed and the image perceived amounts to nothing more than an infatuation with the creature over the Creator. In simple terms it is called, idolatry. But little does anyone realize that it is a preoccupation with death itself. The bottom line is this, because of sin we are all dying, as is all of creation. It’s nothing new. King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon had his own ‘creature worshipping’ experience that resulted in his eye-opening, life changing encounter with the Living God.
The fallen state of man cannot contain or sustain such glory. At best it can only reflect it. Think of it this way: when you shine a light at a mirror, it doesn’t absorb that light into itself, but instead reflects it - deflecting the light away from itself. The mirror itself can neither absorb nor store the light. For man, such self-glorification is a burden, a crushing weight too great to bear. Rather than being a blessing, when he attempts to draw it to himself and hold onto it, it utterly destroys him completely.
I was reminded of the verse in Isaiah where it says, “Surely you have things turned around! Shall the Potter be esteemed as the clay; shall the thing made say of Him who made it, “He did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of Him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?” But arrogantly, we do this very thing.
We live in a generation of incredible technology advancements, the rise of artificial intelligence that inspires a culture to be visually and viscerally charged. We are utterly obsessed with the image. Whether it’s obsessive dieting and exercising, image altering plastic surgery or liposuction; collagen and botox injections to bizarre body art and insane piercings, they are all ways of attracting attention to ourselves as we seek love, adoration, and approval. From politicians to athletes, movie stars to rock stars, and yes, even religious celebrities… the list goes on and on leaving no one out. Our obsession with the image portrayed and the image perceived amounts to nothing more than an infatuation with the creature over the Creator. In simple terms it is called, idolatry. But little does anyone realize that it is a preoccupation with death itself. The bottom line is this, because of sin we are all dying, as is all of creation. It’s nothing new. King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon had his own ‘creature worshipping’ experience that resulted in his eye-opening, life changing encounter with the Living God.
The fallen state of man cannot contain or sustain such glory. At best it can only reflect it. Think of it this way: when you shine a light at a mirror, it doesn’t absorb that light into itself, but instead reflects it - deflecting the light away from itself. The mirror itself can neither absorb nor store the light. For man, such self-glorification is a burden, a crushing weight too great to bear. Rather than being a blessing, when he attempts to draw it to himself and hold onto it, it utterly destroys him completely.
There is only One who is worthy of such glory because there is only One who is incapable of pride. So when glory and adoration is continually lavished upon the fallen by the fallen, the ramifications are negative and ultimately, destructive. Once he thinks himself something, pride has its way and he is doomed. He thinks of himself as a little god, whether he admits it or not. At that point, the image is stained.
What is the story of redemption? Boiled down it is about being saved from sin! It’s life that comes from death. It’s God buying back what was His to begin with but had fallen into slavery, by putting to death the very thing that caused that slavery to begin with… the flesh. That fall and enslavement caused man to enter into the exact same depraved mind Lucifer had when he lusted after the glory of God. In our fallen state, our flesh craves glory. It denies that it is fallen; it seeks to establish its own supremacy and worships the images of self, eventually, vilifying and disregarding it once it begins to decline and fade. That in and of itself is an abomination to God. Why? Because to worship the creature is to spit in the face of the One who created it.
The remedy for this curse is found in what Jesus said, “Take up your cross, and follow Me. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of Me.” As are all the things of God, it is the exact opposite of the way we think. The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Opposites. Jesus said, “Whoever who seeks to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Paul said, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
What is the story of redemption? Boiled down it is about being saved from sin! It’s life that comes from death. It’s God buying back what was His to begin with but had fallen into slavery, by putting to death the very thing that caused that slavery to begin with… the flesh. That fall and enslavement caused man to enter into the exact same depraved mind Lucifer had when he lusted after the glory of God. In our fallen state, our flesh craves glory. It denies that it is fallen; it seeks to establish its own supremacy and worships the images of self, eventually, vilifying and disregarding it once it begins to decline and fade. That in and of itself is an abomination to God. Why? Because to worship the creature is to spit in the face of the One who created it.
The remedy for this curse is found in what Jesus said, “Take up your cross, and follow Me. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of Me.” As are all the things of God, it is the exact opposite of the way we think. The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Opposites. Jesus said, “Whoever who seeks to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Paul said, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
In ancient times, anyone hung upon a tree (the cross was a tree) was considered to be accursed by God. So being publicly hung on a cross demonstrated the person’s wretchedness and unacceptable state to God, but Jesus became that curse in order to buy us all back. Though the instrument for killing the flesh is a difficult one to grasp, by implementing its power moment by moment, it opens the doorway to real life; not just here, but in the one to come.
Because of the original sin our flesh remains cursed and dying. We need to see it as such. There is no eternality in our flesh whatsoever. Go walk some graveyards. We are dying! But even in its dying state, our flesh does not want to accept its fate or its state, cursed. We do whatever we can to numb and distract ourselves from our condition. Eventually the curse catches up, the image fades, and its final state of death is achieved and the penalty for sin is accomplished. When Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am, who can deliver me from the body of this death?” he was in Rome. A common form of Roman torture was to strap a dead body onto the back of a living human being. Between the rapid decay of the attached dead body spreading into the living one and the sheer terror that process produced, a horrifying and unbelievable death was experienced. It’s easy to see how his observation reflected a spiritual reality to him. Our fallen flesh is that dead body! This temporary and frail body we live in is not glorifiable, no matter how you try.
Because of the original sin our flesh remains cursed and dying. We need to see it as such. There is no eternality in our flesh whatsoever. Go walk some graveyards. We are dying! But even in its dying state, our flesh does not want to accept its fate or its state, cursed. We do whatever we can to numb and distract ourselves from our condition. Eventually the curse catches up, the image fades, and its final state of death is achieved and the penalty for sin is accomplished. When Paul wrote, “Wretched man that I am, who can deliver me from the body of this death?” he was in Rome. A common form of Roman torture was to strap a dead body onto the back of a living human being. Between the rapid decay of the attached dead body spreading into the living one and the sheer terror that process produced, a horrifying and unbelievable death was experienced. It’s easy to see how his observation reflected a spiritual reality to him. Our fallen flesh is that dead body! This temporary and frail body we live in is not glorifiable, no matter how you try.
I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m not saying you won’t fail from time to time, but as you think about these things and are unafraid to be honest with yourself, if you are serious about living your life for God to the fullest it can be experienced or understood, eventually it will transform you and the life-giving properties that follow will lead you directly into the presence of God. As the Scripture says, “God opposes the proud, but gives His grace to the humble!”
© 2011 Steven Bliss
© 2011 Steven Bliss
