Whose Image

Jesus contrasts men and money. Shall we pay tribute to Caesar? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? Caesar's. Render unto him what is due him.

But there is that which bears the image and superscription of God. Though defaced and blurred, the image of God in moral nature with volition in man is still discernible. The superscription of possibilities written upon him shows the divine hand.

What you do with money may be important, but only relatively so. What you do with your manhood is all-important. It belongs to God; it bears His stamp and is written all over with His thoughts.

The voice of God from the skies and the voice of God in conscience says, "Render unto God the things which are God's."

The life for God is man's only true purpose.

The old catechism had it right in reference to the end of man. "To love God and to enjoy Him forever."

To render unto God the things which are God's means much of highest privilege to us. The blood of Jesus has been shed and the Holy Ghost given to fully restore His image in us; to fit us to be the circulating medium of His realm, and be forever to His glory.

Paying tribute to God is more than taxes, more than tithes; our high privilege is "All for Jesus." All our being, with all its ransomed powers, is one glad offering unto Him, who hath loved us and redeemed us and fully restored in us His image, and made legible again His handwriting upon us, so that we are read and known of all men.

This question of full complete loyalty to Jesus Christ so outranks all other questions that it becomes the controlling fact in our lives.

We pay to the world what is due to it, but we are citizens of the heavenly country and Christ is King.

To Him we gladly bring the supreme devotion of our being and fullest service of our powers. It is ours to say with Jesus: "Unto God the things which are God's."

Phineas F. Bresee wrote this editorial for The Nazarene Messenger, published on March 14th, 1907

Used with permission from Nazarene Archives.

Please note: This article was originally published in 1907. All facts, figures, and titles were accurate to the best of our knowledge at that time but may have since changed.