What can be seen in these men that reminds us of "the
likeness of God"? We are to judge men, however, by what they are
capable of and are, at their best, rather than at their worst. The
art world regards Michael Angelo's statue of Moses as one of the
greatest creations of the sculptor's genius. Suppose, however, some
one should maliciously deluge this masterpiece with ink, smash it into
fragments with a huge hammer, and then ask as he looked upon the
marred and blackened bits of marble, "Is that a masterpiece of Michael
Angelo's genius?" So we look upon a man who has been marred and
broken by sin and ask the question, "Was that man created in the image
of God? Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright;
but they have sought out many inventions." Trace back the cause of the
degradation of the individual or society or state and we always find
the root to be in some transgression of a righteous law of God.
The Bible uniformly asserts that God is not the author of sin or man's
fall into evil ways, but that he has sufficient light to follow right
ways, if he will. But that an evil man has this marvelous heritage of
being God-born is shown by the fact that even when he has marred "the
likeness of God" in him, by sin, beyond human recognition there is
still a possibility of its being restored.
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