Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 1

David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.
2 Samuel 1:17

We bear the imago Dei. 

The image of God, this imago Dei, lives inside each of us. Our Christian tradition has this beautiful theology of interconnectedness, with all life bound together reflecting its Creator. In some way, each of us shows what God is like. 

For friends, cherished family members, and people we respect, this is easy to consider. But for our enemies, this is much harder. 

Here, David mourns for Saul. But let us remember that, prior to this moment, David and Saul were enemies. Saul had chased David around, trying to kill him, because David threatened his hold on the throne of Israel. Saul is David’s enemy, and yet David mourns for him? And then leads the gathered community to do the same?

He does. In his lament, he recognizes that Saul carries the imago Dei. As king, Saul was God’s anointed, but he was also a human just like all of us, and David recognizes his connection to Saul as a fellow human being made in God’s image. 

We hear in scripture that we are to love our enemies, and here in David’s example, we see how to do that. Should we see the enemy, the hated person, the one who wronged us and caused us harm, as a fellow bearer of the image of God, we see that we are connected to that person. They are God’s beloved, as much as we are, they are formed in the image of God and so are we. In that equality, we see as God does: that we are both, our enemy and ourselves, messed up people who do wrong and are deeply beloved by our Creator anyway.

Think
Who are enemies in your life? 

Pray
Ask God for eyes to see that person as God does, a fellow bearer of the imago Dei, beloved of the Creator.

Do
When angry or bitter thoughts about that enemy surface today, try to see them through God’s eyes. 

Think, Pray, Do. As we respond in faith to scripture, God moves in power through our minds, hearts, and bodies. We are the people of God. Thanks for reading today. Go in peace. Amen.

Think, Pray, Do devotionals by Ted Goshorn follow the suggested bible reading plan from his website and book, Prayer Changes Us. Find this Bible reading plan at tedgoshorn.org/biblereading. If you have found today’s devotion helpful, don’t forget to subscribe for daily emails at tedgoshorn.org and share with others that we may think, pray, and do faithfully.