In Genesis 1:24-25 God creates the animals, both domestic and wild, and calls that creation "good." And then in verse 26 God says, "Let us make a human being (or "humanity") in our image, just like our likeness." The words "image" and "likeness" are in nearly all of their biblical usages physical words; that is to say, you and I, according to these ancient thinkers, actually resemble God. But, that is not all. The rabbi tells us that the only creatures that God could possibly be talking to in the story are the animals God has just made. Hence, he concludes, all of us have within our human creation a little bit of God and a little bit of beast. And, we are forced to add I am afraid, that the beast part of us too often gets the upper hand.
What do you think of this Dr. Doolittle God, a God who talks to the animals and includes them in our human creation? Is not the Trinity a mysterious statement of just how we can speak of God becoming human in Jesus Christ? Is not Genesis 1 a possible statement of how you and I are as much God as we are beast?
Here we search for the ultimate meaning of just who we are as God's creation, and in the Trinity we search for the ultimate Christian meaning of who God is for us. Even though the poets of Genesis 1 did not have the Trinity in mind as they wrote, their words can still inform us in our most profound search for the meanings of our lives and the significance of our relationships to the God who made it all.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In