02 Mar 2026: A Theological Reflection on Spiritual Care: Created in the Image of God
A Theological Reflection on Spiritual Care: Created in the Image of God
Drissa Kone, DMin
Chair of the Doctor of Ministry Program at HJ International Graduate school for Peace and Public School.
Abstract
This theological reflection explores the foundation of spiritual care within the Christian understanding of humanity as created in the Imago Dei, the image of God. Rooted in Scripture and the ministry of Jesus Christ, spiritual care is viewed as a sacred participation in God’s ongoing work of healing, reconciliation, and presence. The paper examines how being made in God’s image establishes the dignity of every person, shaping a theology of care that honors both body and spirit. Drawing on insights from pastoral theology and the social sciences, it considers how caregivers embody divine compassion through active listening, empathy, and accompaniment in times of suffering. Ultimately, this reflection affirms that spiritual care is not just a matter of professional practice but is a theological vocation in expressing of God’s love that recognizes and restores the divine image within all people.
Introduction
Spiritual care is at the heart of Christian ministry. It reflects God’s compassionate and merciful presence to those who are suffering and seeking meaning about the complexities of life. From a theological perspective, spiritual care is not just about counseling but is a participation in the Ministry of God, expressed through Christ’s love, healing, and reconciliation for the world. Through spiritual care, the caregiver becomes a vessel of God’s grace, walking with others toward wholeness and hope.
This paper will begin by examining spiritual care practices within the tradition of the Church tracing back from the early days of the Church to its contemporary context. It will then highlight the centrality of spiritual care in professional ministry as supported by Scripture. Furthermore, the paper will explore key theories of pastoral care that integrate theology and psychology. Finally, it will conclude with a personal reflection drawn from a hospital visitation experience, showing how spiritual care is practiced in real-life ministry.
I. Tradition
a. The Early Church and Pastoral Care
In the early centuries of the Church, spiritual care was an integral part of community life. Deacons and elders visited the sick, cared for widows and orphans, and prayed for the dying. Not just the clergy but the koinonia (community) as the body of Christ was extensively involved in spiritual care. The pastor’s role was defined as both the teacher and the physician of souls in the writings of the Church Fathers. Gregory emphasized that the pastor must cultivate discernment, humility, and compassion as the sign of a good shepherd, warning that pastoral leadership without love becomes tyranny (Gregory the Great, 2007).
b. Medieval and Reformation Traditions
During the medieval period, spiritual care focused on salvation of the soul and preparation for the afterlife. Spiritual care became a matter of confession, penance, and sacramental ministry, and expressing care through forgiveness, reconciliation, and moral purification (Oden, 1984).
The Reformation renewed the vision of pastoral care by emphasizing the priesthood of all believers. Martin Luther and John Calvin insisted that spiritual care should return to the Word of God, faith, and community encouragement rather than institutional mediation alone. The tradition thus expanded to include mutual exhortation and spiritual companionship, not only clerical intervention (Oden, 1984; Clebsch & Jaekle, 1964).
c. Modern and Contemporary Developments
In the twentieth century, thinkers such as Anton Boisen, Seward Hiltner, and Howard Clinebell redefined spiritual care as both a ministry practice and a psychological process, integrating theological reflection with insights from the social and behavioral sciences. The field of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) emerged, emphasizing the ministry of presence, empathy, and self-awareness (Boisen, 1936; Hiltner, 1958; Clinebell, 1984). Yet the theological core remains grounded in the Christian story: spiritual care continues the ministry of Christ through acts of healing, listening, and reconciliation, empowered by the Holy Spirit and expressed in diverse contexts such as churches, hospitals, hospices, prisons, military, and campus ministries.
II. Scripture
Imago Dei: The Dignity of the Human Person
The starting point for spiritual care is the conviction that every person is created in the image of God. This truth affirms that every human being carries divine worth, regardless of condition, belief, or failure. Pastoral care, therefore, is an act of reverence honoring the presence of God in the life of each person. As Genesis 1:27 declares: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This verse is foundational for understanding the relationship between God and humanity. To understand who human beings are, one must first reflect on the source of that image, God, the Creator. God’s very essence is love, and this love is expressed and understood in a relational context. Thus, God and humanity are engaged in a sacred relationship characterized by both love and loss. Love is the motive for God’s creation of humanity, while loss represents the other side of that relationship.
Just as people grieve when separated from those they love, Scripture reveals that God, too, experiences grief over the brokenness of that divine–human relationship. As Genesis 6:6 records: “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” This verse portrays the depth of divine sorrow, showing that the more profound the love, the greater the grief that accompanies separation. God’s grief reveals divine vulnerability, a longing to be reconnected with His children. In this sense, when humanity suffers, God suffers as well. This divine empathy is most fully revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. In John 11:35–36, we read: “Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” Jesus’ tears at the tomb of Lazarus embody the heart of God’s compassion and model the essence of pastoral care. His ministry reveals that true spiritual care involves entering into the pain of others, bearing it with love, and becoming a living expression of God’s healing presence.
Christ listened, touched, healed, and stayed present with people in their deepest pain. In the story of Lazarus, Jesus weeps before offering words of hope, showing that authentic care begins with empathy and shared suffering. The theological meaning here is incarnational: God meets humanity not from a distance, but through compassionate presence. Spiritual care acknowledges that suffering is part of the human experience, yet through faith it can become a place of encounter with God (Doehring, 2015). As the cross is both a symbol of human pain and divine solidarity, the spiritual caregiver stands at the foot of the cross with those who suffer, not to explain away their pain but to help them discover God’s redemptive presence within it. Therefore, as followers of Christ we can connect with the suffering of others while we also heal from our wounds. Caring for the sick and the wounded opens the soul of the caregiver to experience healing as well (Nouwen, 1979). Effective pastoral care combines spiritual discernment with practical wisdom. It requires listening deeply, respecting human complexity, and discerning the movement of the Holy Spirit.
Theologically, this reminds us that the caregiver is not the healer, God is. The pastoral care task is to create space for divine healing to unfold, through presence, prayer, and compassionate engagement. As Henri Nouwen wrote, the caregiver is a “wounded healer” who ministers out of personal brokenness and grace (Nouwen, 1979).
III. Theory
a. Integrating Psychology and Theology
Psychology enriches pastoral care by illuminating the emotional and cognitive dimensions of suffering. It provides language for understanding trauma, grief, anxiety, and family systems. By learning to recognize defense mechanisms, transference, and developmental needs, the spiritual caregiver can respond with greater empathy and precision. However, psychological theory alone cannot answer the ultimate questions of meaning, forgiveness, or hope. These belong to the realm of faith. Therefore, the integration of psychology and theology enables caregivers to see human pain not only as dysfunction but as a spiritual journey toward healing and transformation. (Clinebell, 1984).
This was extensively expressed by Henri Nouwen through the metaphor of the wounded healer. Drawing from both psychology and spirituality the caregivers bring their own brokenness into ministry not as a hindrance, but as a bridge to empathy. Psychological self-awareness helps the caregiver recognize personal limits and transference, while theology frames vulnerability as a place where grace becomes visible. In this dynamic, pastoral care becomes an act of mutual healing, where both caregiver and care receiver encounter God’s restorative love (Nouwen, 1979).
The incorporation of family systems theory has further shaped contemporary pastoral care. Human distress rarely exists in isolation; it is embedded in networks of relationship—family, church, and culture. Understanding these relational dynamics helps pastoral caregivers move from treating symptoms to addressing systemic patterns of anxiety and conflict (Friedman, 1985; Bowen, 1978).
For example, a chaplain caring for a dying patient must attend not only to the patient’s spiritual concerns but also to the family’s emotional processes—guilt, fear, unfinished reconciliation. Through systemic awareness, the caregiver becomes a facilitator of relational healing, echoing the biblical vision of peace, wholeness, and harmony within community (Doehring, 2015).
In an increasingly globalized world, pastoral care must also integrate cultural and intercultural perspectives. Effective care requires sensitivity to cultural identity, worldview, and different expressions of faith. Theology itself must become contextual, recognizing that the image of God is expressed through diverse cultures and traditions. Cultural competence warns against imposing Western individualistic models of care in settings where communal identity, ancestors, or spiritual cosmology play central roles. It affirms that God’s presence transcends cultural boundaries, and that caring ministry must reflect this diversity with humility and respect (Lartey, 2003).
b. Jungian Perspective on Pastoral Care
Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology, made profound contributions to the understanding of the human psyche. His theory emphasizes that every person is on a journey toward wholeness, a lifelong process he called individuation. For pastoral caregivers, Jung’s insights offer a bridge between psychology and theology, helping ministers interpret the inner life of faith, suffering, and transformation. Pastoral care, in the Jungian perspective, is not simply about comforting or advising; it is about accompanying individuals in their spiritual and psychological growth. Jung’s ideas on the Self, Shadow, Persona, Anima/Animus, and symbols can deepen theological reflection in the practice of spiritual care. The Shadow represents the repressed or denied aspects of personality—impulses, fears, and weaknesses we do not want to acknowledge. Jung saw the confrontation with one’s Shadow as essential for maturity. Pastorally, this aligns with the process of confession, repentance, and forgiveness. When people repress their Shadow, they may project it onto others demonizing what they fear in themselves. Pastoral care helps individuals face these hidden parts honestly and integrate them into a redeemed self-understanding. As Jung wrote, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” This principle helps chaplains and pastors recognize that spiritual growth often emerges from honest engagement with inner darkness rather than the denial of brokenness, grace, and divine encounter (Jung, 1959).
IV. Personal Experience
A Pastoral Encounter: Accompanying a patient on the journey of dying
It was late in the afternoon when I received a call from the nurse in the palliative-care unit.
“Chaplain,” she said softly, “Mr. Bob is asking to speak with someone about death. He said he doesn’t know where he’s going.”
Her tone carried both urgency but also compassion. I took a deep breath, prayed silently for grace, and walked toward his room.
Mr. Bob was in his early sixties; he was tired and weakened by the disease. His face showed both physical pain and deep anxiety. Tubes surrounded him, and the rhythmic sound of the oxygen machine filled the room. As I walked in the room, he opened his eyes and whispered, “Are you the priest?”
“I’m the chaplain,” I replied, taking a seat beside him. “I’m here to listen, to be with you.”
He nodded and turned his face toward the window. “I’m dying, chaplain. I’ve known it for weeks now. But what scares me is not death itself but it’s what comes after. I don’t know where I’m going. I’ve made many mistakes, and I don’t know if God can forgive me.”
Through his words I felt this moment was sacred. This was not a time for me preach, explain, or argue anything; it was a time for me to be present with him. I invited him to share whatever was on his heart. He spoke slowly; he was hesitant about his childhood in church, his years of hard work, and the challenges raising his children. “I was never a bad father,” he said, “but I wasn’t a good one either. I was just weak sometimes.”
As he spoke, I resisted the temptation to fill the silence. Instead, I leaned forward, maintaining eye contact, nodding gently. My listening became a kind of prayer, a quiet invocation for God’s Spirit to move between us. I realized that the simple act of listening can itself be healing. It affirms the person’s dignity and allows them to reclaim their story in the face of death.
After a long pause, he asked, “Chaplain, do you think there’s something waiting for me? I’m not sure I believe in heaven anymore.”
I took a deep breath. “Mr. Bob,” I said, “I don’t have all the answers about what heaven looks like. But I do believe that God is love and that love does not abandon us, even in death. The same God who has been with you in life will not give up on you in dying.”
His eyes filled up with tears. “I want to believe that,” he said.
“Then maybe we can believe it together,” I replied.
He stretched his hand toward me, I hold his hand, and I prayed softly, asking God for peace, forgiveness, and courage. I reminded him that God’s mercy is larger than our fears and that the journey after death is one of returning home to that love.
After my prayer, he said “thank you, chaplain” with eyes filled with tears. I left the room weeping as well.
Conclusion
As a spiritual caregiver, the calling is to become a co-worker with Christ in the ministry of healing and reconciliation with God. Each encounter with a person in distress is a sacred moment. The spiritual caregiver continually learns to balance listening and guiding, compassion and truth, action and contemplation. Spiritual care challenges the caregiver to grow in humility, patience, and faith. It calls him to rely not on his own strength but on the gentle power of the Holy Spirit, who transforms hearts in ways beyond human understanding.
Theological reflection on spiritual care reveals that professional ministry is incarnational, redemptive, and communal. It mirrors God’s unending compassion and challenges us to embody that love in tangible ways. Whether through prayer, presence, or practical help, spiritual care is an expression of God’s ongoing work of healing and restoration in the world.To offer spiritual care is to participate in the mystery of God’s grace standing beside others as Christ stands beside us.
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