It was good to hear from both the male image of God and the female image of God, Genesis 1:27, at the Roman Catholic Synod 2023. It appears that both men, male image, and women, female image, were given equal opportunity together in prayer, listening, communicating and discerning.
As a lay-person trying to better understand the concept of God, it was wonderful to hear Pope Francis invoke the Holy Mother of God to assist us through the Holy Spirit.
As a learner, I have found numerous indications of the male image of God throughout scripture. In the NRSV-CI bible version, Isaiah 66:13 states that, “as a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you”. It is encouraging to think that a ‘Mother’ image of God can be known along with a ‘Father’ image of God, our ‘Holy Parent’.
Human beings are biological organisms of two sexes, male and female. The male body is basically the same for all males. There will be different shapes of eyes, different skin colour, differences which don’t really alter the design of the male organism and the same holds true for females and the female organism. We are told that God’s Grace, bounty and abundance are available to everyone. Each person has equal opportunity to look for, and find God. This is our free will. I’m not sure why there is such a sliding scale of worthiness based on sex, race, mind, personal identity or other differences which are only natural to have within such a diverse species as human beings.
We love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind, and our neighbour as ourself. There is a saying; “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey”, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The beauty of believing, accepting and following the Resurrected Christ is that the destination has now been determined, 'Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God'. “Begin with the end in mind”, is a quote from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R Covey. The journey now has an anchoring point within the destination.
As more and more people decide to journey with God, more individuals will be networked through the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s Will on earth as it is in heaven.
Richard Ashton is a follower of Jesus Christ. As a person born with a physical challenge, Richard has always sensed that he was more that his physical body. Richard’s roles as grandfather, father and retired executive director of 25 years have shaped his writings. Richard is the CEO of Otter Point of View Communications, OtterViewPoint.ca
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, at https://www.timescolonist.com/blogs/spiritually-speaking
