The Pharisees and the Herodians come together to trap Jesus with a question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus, knowing their intent, asks whose image is on the coin. When they answer, “Caesar’s,” He replies, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Devotional: It’s remarkable how a simple question can pierce through the noise. “Whose image is on it?” Jesus didn’t lecture or debate; He simply held up a coin and made them see what had been in their hands the whole time. Caesar’s image marked the coin, and so it rightfully belonged to Caesar. But the unspoken follow-up question lingers in the air—and what bears God’s image?

The answer is as humbling as it is life-changing. We do. Every human being carries the imprint of our Creator. It’s not faint, even if it’s sometimes hard to see. From the beginning, God breathed His breath into us, stamped His likeness upon our hearts, and called us His own (Genesis 1:26–27). That means there isn’t a person on this earth—friend, stranger, or enemy—who doesn’t reflect something of Him.

When Jesus said, “Give to God what is God’s,” He wasn’t talking about money or temple offerings. He was talking about us. Discipleship isn’t about paying dues or checking religious boxes. It’s about surrendering our entire being—the parts we proudly show and the parts we’d rather hide. Our thoughts, our time, our talents, our pain, and our potential—they all belong to Him.

Sometimes we separate our faith from the rest of life, as if God only gets Sunday mornings or the moments we label “spiritual.” But when Jesus points to that coin, He reminds us that everything bearing God’s image is sacred. Our work, our relationships, our choices—all of them are places where His glory can shine through. Giving God what is His means allowing Him to shape every corner of who we are until our reflection starts to resemble His love.

And that reflection doesn’t happen overnight. The world will always try to claim us, to stamp us with other identities—consumer, employee, success story, failure. But underneath it all, God’s imprint remains. You are not defined by what the world demands of you. You are defined by the One who made you, redeemed you, and calls you His own.

When we begin to live from that truth, it changes how we see others, too. The cashier, the neighbor, the person who cuts you off in traffic—each one bears the same divine image. When we remember that, our patience deepens, our compassion grows, and our worship expands beyond words into the way we live and love.

So when Jesus says, “Give to God what is God’s,” He’s inviting us to return home to ourselves—to remember whose image we bear and whose hands we belong in.

Action: Take five quiet minutes today and place your hands over your heart. Whisper to God, “I belong to You.” Ask Him to show you one area of your life that you’ve kept back for yourself, and what it might mean to return it to Him in trust.

Prayer: God, You shaped me in Your image and breathed Your life into mine. Forgive me for the times I forget who I belong to and live as if I’m my own. Teach me to live as one stamped with Your likeness, that my thoughts and actions would reflect Your love into the world. Take what I’ve been holding back, Lord—my worries, my pride, my fears—and make it Yours. May my life, in every small and ordinary way, give glory back to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Thought for the Day: Your life bears the image of God. Live today as one who belongs wholly to Him.