Created In "Imago Dei"

Why?

We're all created in God's image.
God says that we belong to Him.
As Christians we should all be accepting.
But why is it so hard?

We all have our own quirks
And things that we do uniquely.
Yet those who are different we judge so harshly.
But why do we do this?

You may say, "I love God"
But don't show it through actions.
If God loves us no matter what
Why can't we do the same for others?

"Normal" is a word we use.
It describes situations, things and people.
"I would like to propose defining 'normal'
As simply being created in God's image" (1).


I wrote this little poem as part of my response this reading, by Steven M. Fettke, and as a question to those who consider themselves Christians. These were my thoughts: How are we really responding to others around us? Are we showing love and acceptance? Why do we accept or reject others?

This piece of work left me questioning my own actions and perceptions of those who are disabled and how I should look at them through a Christian perspective. Not the perspective of the Church nowadays, but what should be done as a Christian. God showed His love for us by sending His only son to die on the cross for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). He shows us how to love. Now that we know how to love, we are supposed to show this kind of love to everyone, disabled or not.

But why don't we love others? Here are some reasons that I thought of:

1) We are afraid of opening ourselves up because we are afraid of rejection. We all desire to be loved by others. When we extend our love to others, the hope is that this action would be reciprocated by the other party. But when we do not receive love back, there is a greater chance of not opening ourselves up again. This leads to my second thought.
2) We have been rejected before when we tried to love and are more concerned with guarding our own hearts and emotions. We don't want to experience more heartache because it's not fun at all.
The force behind these reasonings is that, to put it in simple terms, we are selfish people. We don't want to give ourselves away and are more concerned with the benefits we receive rather than being willing to give.


The last line in my poem comes from the actual reading. I liked so much, and I thought it was appropriate to put it in. God created us in His image. God is perfect. So the way He made us is perfectly how He wanted us. God made us to be used for His glory, and He does this through different ways. So since we are made to be like Him, we should start acting like Him as well. We can start by loving and accepting others, no matter what. Whether a person has a disability or not, we are all "normal"-- created in God's image (1). It may not seem easy to accept and love others who may have a disability, but God has called us to love one another (Leviticus 19:18). We are all people, created by God, in His image, who just need to be loved.
(561)