“So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
In Matthew 21 Jesus has stirred up his enemies and they are looking for a way to bring him down. The ask him what they think is a lose-lose question: “Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?” If he says, ‘No” then they can report him to the Roman occupational authorities and have him arrested. If he says, “Yes,” then they can slander him to the Jewish people as being a supporter of the hated Roman government that had taken control of their country. So Jesus says:
“Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
What a brilliant answer! But there’s more to it than might first meet the eye. Currency belongs to the government authority that issues it. Caesar’s image on the Roman denarius makes it clear who owns it. His citizens may use it as a medium of exchange, but it’s his. So Jesus says, “Render to Caesar what belongs to him.” But then he adds without hesitation, “and to God what belongs to God.”
Great! But what does belong to God? Answer: What belongs to God is what bears his image, just like Caesar's currency bears Caesar’s image. And in all creation the one and only thing that bears God’s image is a human being. God has a rightful claim on our lives precisely because we alone bear his image. And Jesus is insisting that we pay up.
So how are you doing with that? I’m sure that we all pay our taxes, but as God’s image-bearers are we giving our lives to God?