On my upper back, centered between the shoulder blades, is the phrase Imago Dei.
There is a line through the text, the upper half is shifted a little to the left, the lower half is shifted a little to the right. In a sense, the phrase looks broken apart.
Imago Dei translates to Image of God in Latin. The term has it’s roots in Genesis 1:27 “…God created man in His image.”
There’s a lot of richness to this truth, but in the simplest terms, we were made to resemble God. We were made to resemble Him in His character. We were meant to resemble compassion, grace, patience, mercy, love.
We were meant to be image bearers of Christ, each person an expression of God.
But because of sin, we became broken images.
The image reminds me that I am not enough. I will never be enough. I often times resemble selfishness, sloth, gluttony, anger, pride. I constantly mess up. My sarcasm can be sharp. My humor is mistaken as pretentious. Sometimes it seems like there’s a lot to apologize for. And a lot of the time I don’t end up asking forgiveness. I hide my flaws, I mask my emotions. I am broken.
But the tattoo isn’t shifting away, it’s shifting back together. It’s a reminder that I’m in the process of becoming more like Christ. That I am growing to become a clearer reflection of Him. We are broken in sin, but we are redeemed in Christ.
I do not want to be ashamed of being created in the Image of God. I want to accept that I am kind, I am wise, I am intentional, I am considerate. I am not all these things always, but I’m a work in progress.
I am not enough. I will never be enough. But Christ who is in me is enough.
