In His Image

The September 2025 issue of Christianity Today included an article by John Swinton titled, “It Was ‘Good’ Not Perfect,” on how the church views disability. He makes the statement:

Some of our errors in theology around disability stem from a reading of the Genesis creation narrative that idealizes Adam and Eve as perfect examples of human beings. The implication is that there was not disability in the Garden of Eden and therefore disability must have arisen after the Fall… While Eden was originally untainted by sin, the Bible does not suggest that creation was perfect in the sense of flawlessness or static idealism.

Instead, the divine pronouncement is that the creation is good (tov in Hebrew). This word, in its biblical and theological context, does not imply perfection or uniformity but denotes relational integrity, aesthetic richness, diversity, and the capacity for fruitful, dynamic life and connection.

While I agree with many of his points in the article, in particular the definition of the imago Dei as a relational concept and not mental or physical abilities, I struggle with some of his ideas. By his interpretation, even if Adam and Eve had not sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there would still be people who live with cerebral palsy (the example he used to start the article) and other mental and physical illnesses, disabilities, and diseases. Toward the end, Swinton does note:

Many forms of disability are not experienced as benign differences and should not be idealized… Suffering is real. And for some, it is relentless. Yet we are not without hope: In the new heavens and new earth, Christ will wipe away every tear, and mourning, crying, and pain will cease (Rev. 21:4). But this does not mean that disabled bodies fall outside the scope of creation’s goodness. All human lives bear the imprint of fragility; every body carries its own marks of limitation and vulnerability.

It is certainly true that God created a wide variety of people with differing gifts and abilities, and some of those may be things that some people would consider disabilities. (Consider books like Neurodivergent Genius by Ralph Rickenbach.) And in the new creation there may be variations among people that we don’t expect to see, which is indicative of our limited understanding of Creation and of science in general.

But the Fall did have profound impacts on all areas of life—physical, mental, relational, and of course spiritual. When it comes to disability and suffering, we must rely on God’s sovereignty. We can turn to Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” And in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.”

God can and will use all sorts of people and circumstances for His purposes; therefore, we can take heart when life seems harder than we think it ought to. Our limitations do not erase God’s image from us or prevent God from working in and through us. Accepting our limitations does not preclude a desire for something different or better. We can be content with who we are in this life and yet still long for the Day when all will be made truly perfect.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us… For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8: 18, 22-23).

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Here are a couple related articles to ponder:

https://www.andrewcorbett.net/articles/theology/was-the-original-creation-perfect/

https://crossexamined.org/was-gods-original-creation-perfect/

© 2025 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Eternal Misconceptions

We all have ideas and images of what we think eternal life will be like. Some are biblical, some are not, and some are interesting possibilities. I realize with a post like this there will be differing opinions, and that’s okay. (You don’t need to tell me if you disagree!) I just want to provide a little food for thought.

Earth and Heaven- Let’s just get this one off the plate first: we aren’t going to live in heaven for eternity. God is making a new heavens and new earth (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1). There would be no point in a new earth if no one is going to dwell there. We’ll finally get to enjoy what this earth would have been like if sin had never entered the picture.

Humans and Angels- We are not going to look like angels (in whatever form you may picture them). When Jesus said that in the resurrection they “are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:30), we can’t ignore the context. He was referring specifically to marriage and our current earthly relationships, and we shouldn’t take that metaphor beyond that context. No one will be married except as the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:6-9). However, we may have some powers that we don’t currently have. Jesus was able to walk through closed doors after He rose from the dead (John 20:26). I like to imagine instantaneous teleportation to wherever we want to go.

Who’s Who- We will somehow recognize those we have known in this life once we have our new bodies. It’s always puzzled me when people say they think we aren’t going to remember anything about this life. Scripture talks a lot about our responsibility to one another in the Body of Christ here on earth (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; etc.). Why would God emphasize that so much if we were going to lose all those connections in the new world? And in fact, why would He bother with the current world at all if He’s just going to create all new beings with eternal lives?

Praise and Worship- We will not be singing songs constantly. Revelation 4:8 says the “four living creatures… never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Nowhere does Scripture say that humans will be doing the same. Certainly, we will have reason to give praise and thanks frequently and fervently, but there’s no reason to think it’s going to be one continuous gospel concert.

Work to Do- When God created the earth, He gave Adam and Eve work to do before sin entered the world and corrupted everything (Gen. 2:15). Sin just made the work a lot harder (Gen. 3:17-19). Work is a beneficial part of our existence, and by it we glorify God as we use the gifts He has given us. To imagine eternity as nothing but playing harps forever doesn’t sound all that appealing. Wandering around the earth seeing all the sights might be nice for a while, but I think it would get old after a couple millennia. But if we each get to participate in creative work in the areas that we are passionate about, we could glorify God and enjoy His creation in many varied ways. Some have speculated that there will still be nations, governments, and economics. Perhaps that will be the case, though we know that no one will lack what they need and there will be no conflict.

The End of Evil- Since I was raised in a conditionalist denomination, I have to include this final point, though I realize many would debate it. First Timothy 6:16 says that God “alone has immorality” and 1 Corinthians 15:42 says that “what is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.” God gives eternal life to those who believe in Jesus (John 3:16), so it seems illogical that God would give eternal existence to the unsaved for the sole purpose of punishing them forever. I count myself among those who believe that hell is eternal in its results, not in its duration. There are theologians who can expand on that argument far better than I, but I’ll just note that aionion used in Matthew 25:46 and elsewhere can be translated “agelong.” And this present age will come to an end with Jesus’s return and the final judgment.

Whatever eternity is like, we are guaranteed that it will be perfect, enjoyable, and better than anything we can currently imagine.

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:3b-4).

© 2024 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.