Each Sin Breaks a Piece of the Image
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image." — Genesis 5:3
The Two Things Sin Does
Sin does two things, and they are worth stating precisely because the remedies differ.
First, sin breaks our relationship with God.
Humanity was created for fellowship with God. As long as the first man was without sin, that relationship was intact. The moment he sinned, it broke — and it has been broken ever since.
Second, sin breaks our image of God.
Humanity was made in the image of God — a perfect, righteous, sinless image. When the first man sinned, that image broke.
And then Genesis records something easy to read past:
"When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image." (Genesis 5:3)
Read the shift. Adam was made in God's image. His son was made in Adam's. Every generation since has inherited the second, not the first.
Two Repairs
Both were addressed at the cross. Jesus lived a sinless life and died as a sacrifice to restore everything sin had cost — both the relationship and the image.
But they are received differently.
To restore the relationship: you repent of your sins as a whole and believe that Jesus' death freed you from them. By faith, the relationship with the Father is restored. This is one transaction, and it is complete.
To restore the image: it is similar but not identical. You still repent — but rather than repenting of sin as a whole, you repent of sins individually, one by one.
Because each individual sin broke a portion of the image, each portion is restored as that particular sin is dealt with.
A Lifetime's Work, and Worth It
This explains something about the Christian life that puzzles many people.
Why does someone become a believer, have a genuine and complete restoration of relationship with God — and still have so much wrong with them? Still the same temper. Still the same fear. Still the same compulsions.
Because the two repairs run on different timelines. The relationship is restored instantly and entirely. The image is restored progressively, piece by piece, as things are dealt with individually.
That is not a defect in the gospel. It is the actual shape of what Scripture describes: "being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
From one degree to another. Piece by piece. Exactly as a sculptor works.
Point to Ponder
The relationship was restored in a moment. The image is restored in pieces, and each piece has a name.
Verse to Remember
"And we all... are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." — 2 Corinthians 3:18
Question to Consider
Have I assumed that because my relationship with God is settled, there was nothing further to deal with?
Today's Practice
Consider what has been broken rather than only what has been done.
Take three items from your list. For each, ask: what does this sin break in me?
Dishonesty breaks the capacity to be trusted and to trust. Sexual sin breaks the ability to be fully present with one person. Rage breaks safety — for you and for everyone near you. Envy breaks the ability to be glad. Unforgiveness breaks mercy.
Write down what each of your sins has broken. This is a different exercise from listing the acts, and it usually produces a very different kind of grief — the useful kind.
Then, as you repent of each one, ask specifically for the restoration:
"Father, I repent of ________. It broke ________ in me. Restore that piece of Your image in me."
Prayer
Father, thank You that my relationship with You was restored completely when I turned to You. That part is settled and I am not going to doubt it.
But I understand now that the image is a different work, and that it comes back in pieces as I deal with things one at a time.
Show me what each sin has broken in me. And as I bring each one to You, restore that piece.
Transform me from one degree to another until what You intended is visible. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Each sin broke a specific piece. Each piece comes back the same way.