The Second Commandment

The Second Commandment focuses on the relationship that we have with our Creator. In our worship, we must not reduce God to the likeness of a physical object. Doing so is totally unacceptable to God.

This commandment totally forbids the use of any type of inanimate or lifeless imagery in the worship of the living God. Yet God did create on earth a likeness of Himself - human beings. His Word specifically tells that that He "created man in his own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27)

We need to always focus on the fact that our Creator is a living God, not an inanimate statue or a picture. Making physical representations of Him limits our perception of what He is really like and damages our relationship with Him.

The only things on earth that reflect a reasonable likeness to the living God are human beings. In the same way, Jesus Christ, as a man, was in the image of his Father. Being like God, especially developing His own character in us, is what our existence is all about.

God gives us creative and leadership abilities that parallel His own, but on a much smaller scale. By His creation we have excellent mind power. We can reason, analyse, plan and visualise the future. We create, design and build. We also organise, manage and supervise creatures and people. In limited ways, we are much like God.

However, in other areas, we are far from being like Him; our character is weak, our relationships are poor, our spiritual understanding is limited and often flawed and our perceptions can be inaccurate. We are also biased in our opinions, we harbour prejudices and engage in conflict. In these areas we fall far short of being like God. Even though we have been given limited abilities and characteristics similar to His, we need to really develop them before we can truly become like Him.

However, we are not without a perfect pattern of God's character. Jesus Christ, as a human being perfectly represented God, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9)

Being like God is our destiny, provided that we surrender our lives to Him and obey the Commandments, "For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments (Exodus 20:5-6)

God holds us acountable for our words and actions. He expects those who worship Him in truth and understanding to show their love for Him by obeying His commandments from the heart and not just through mindless habit. Jesus made this clear when he said, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24)

We are not to worship God with images and rituals. Obeying God is worshipping Him by emulating Him, by thinking and living as He would. We need to allow Him to dress us in His likeness. We show our honour and praise for Him by the way that we live!