Whose image is on this…?

Below is an excerpt from my son Jacob's web page (linked in my side panel), from an article called Break a Coin This Christmas, published 24 days ago. It's almost a sermon, really, or perhaps it was meant to be. I was startled by some interesting concepts I found there, beyond what I am quoting. I recommend you visit his site and read the rest of his article. It's interesting…
Break a Coin This Christmas

The coin pictured above is a denarius of emperor Trajan which used to be in my personal coin collection. Now, I only have the pictures. The actual coin shown to Jesus was probably a denarius of emperor Tiberius, known popularly as "the Tribute penny." I never owned one of these.

“When God created people, he ‘fashioned’ them – he molded them from material that he had woven together out of nothing. He didn’t ‘style’ the dirt to make it look like a person – he created a miniature version of himself. Only fashion has integrity – only the materials used to fashion a product will prolong a product and make it strong.

“When he was asked about taxes, Christ responded – “Who’s image is on this coin?” The answer, of course, was Caesar. “Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar – give to God what is God’s.” Christ makes a few logical jumps but follow his thinking here:

“Coins have the image of Caesar – they are value assigned by Caesar and they function for Caesar – they are the currency of Caesar’s world.

“Human beings – people – have imprinted on themselves the image of God. Their value is assigned to them according to the image of God that they possess – their life. The life that we have flowing through our blood – the air we breathe – this is the currency of God’s world. All living things have value, but humanity has the highest value because it is stamped with imago Dei.

“So Christ says, in one pithy sentence, Caesar’s coins are valued according to style – and they are value assigned according to what someone thinks – a public philosophy. Our humanity is fashioned to look and work like its divine prototype – it is in the fabric of our cells to promote life in ourselves and in the world around us.”



—Jacob Gorny

P.S.—There's another really excellent article entitled "Denial is not just a river in Egypt" that I'd like to share with my readers—especially those who are college students—full of practical wisdom and quotable quotes, and fun to read. Here's the link:
Denial is Not Just a River in Egypt