A reminder that while we, here on earth, are subject to many things, God is subject to none. Many groups claim sovereignty over us, our communities, and our very lives, but none of them have sovereignty over our God, nor creation.

Jesus, when asked how a person of faith should deal with what seem like conflicts in sovereignty, responded, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s.” Giving to each what belongs to each is right. The people at the time were struggling with this question because some of their faith leaders were saying that paying taxes to the Romans was an act of bad faith. Jesus here
reminds them, there is a demarcation. The coins, the money that were used in daily life and in paying taxes, were stamped with the face of the emperor. They were created by the empire, and the empire had the right to control their use,including taxes. But as for the people, the people were created by God, and only God has sovereignty over them. He’s essentially saying, your money belongs to Caesar, your life and everything else belongs to God.

We were created with the Imago Dei, the image of God imprinted upon ourselves. The Maker’s mark, that cannot be taken away for it comes from having been molded by God, in close contact with the divine. It cannot be marred, nor erased without destroying the creation utterly and returning it to the nothingness from which all creation came. As long as we exist, we hold the image of God.

And that image of God, is not subject to the whims of Caesar, no matter who sits upon that throne in our hearts or heads. In following Christ, in living into being bearers of the image of God, we offer up our taxes to the one that controls taxes and holds dominion over them. And we offer up life, love, human dignity, hope, joy,peace to God and God alone. For God holds dominion over them.

May God Bless you with Peace and Understanding