If God be God and man a creature made in image of the divine

“If God be God and man a creature made in image of the divine intelligence, his noblest function is the search for truth.” – Morris West

In these words, Morris West, the great novelist and seeker of spiritual meaning, distills a timeless commandment that echoes through the ages: man’s highest calling is the search for truth. He speaks not as a theologian chained by doctrine, but as one who perceives the divine thread that runs through both heaven and the heart of man. To say that man is made in the image of the divine intelligence is to remind us that within the human soul burns a fragment of the Eternal Mind — a spark of that vast consciousness we call God. And if this is so, then man’s noblest task is not blind worship, nor idle existence, but the courageous pursuit of understanding — to seek truth in all its forms, and in doing so, to approach the very essence of divinity.

The ancients understood this sacred duty. In the temples of Egypt, the walls bore inscriptions proclaiming, “Know thyself, and thou shalt know the gods.” In Greece, the philosophers of the Golden Age believed that reason and inquiry were not acts of rebellion, but acts of reverence. For to question is to honor the divine intelligence, to use the mind as it was meant to be used — not as a vessel for fear, but as a lamp that lights the mysteries of creation. Even the scriptures whisper the same truth: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings to search it out.” Thus, West stands in the lineage of those who saw no divide between faith and knowledge, between reverence and discovery. To seek truth is not to flee from God — it is to follow His footprints through the fabric of existence.

Throughout history, the search for truth has been both man’s greatest glory and his deepest trial. Think of Galileo Galilei, who lifted his telescope toward the heavens and saw a cosmos far grander than the Church dared imagine. For this revelation, he was condemned, yet he stood firm in his conviction that truth could never be heresy. “And yet it moves,” he whispered of the Earth — defying those who would chain the human mind. Galileo’s courage was not rebellion against God, but a defense of divine order itself, for he believed that the Creator’s work was vast and intelligible, that the laws of nature were written in the language of reason. In his steadfastness, he embodied the noblest function of man: to seek truth even when the world condemns it.

But the search for truth is not confined to science or philosophy alone. It is the work of every soul that dares to live honestly — the artist seeking beauty beyond imitation, the lover seeking purity beyond desire, the teacher seeking wisdom beyond words. For truth wears many faces: it can be found in the silence of prayer, in the discipline of the scholar, in the compassion of one who sees clearly and acts justly. Every time we cast away illusion, we move closer to God. Every time we confront our ignorance with humility and courage, we perform an act of divine imitation. To seek truth is to refine the soul until it mirrors the divine intelligence that gave it birth.

Yet let it be known that this path is not easy. The search for truth demands sacrifice — of comfort, of vanity, of certainty. It asks us to walk through the shadows of doubt and to endure the loneliness of those who see differently. It demands that we question not only the world, but ourselves — our motives, our beliefs, our fears. And still, it is the only path worthy of a being made in God’s image. For to live without seeking truth is to betray that spark within us; it is to accept the dust when we were made for stars.

We must, therefore, cultivate in our hearts the spirit of the seeker. Let us question bravely but listen humbly. Let us study the world, not to conquer it, but to understand it as part of the divine design. Let us search for truth in our own lives — in our words, our work, our relationships. For truth is not a treasure buried in the heavens; it is a living presence that reveals itself to those who are pure in intention and patient in pursuit. When we live truthfully, we align ourselves with the divine intelligence, and every act becomes an offering, every moment a revelation.

So let this be the teaching passed down: The search for truth is the prayer of the awakened soul. It is how man fulfills his divine image, how he honors his Creator not through blind devotion but through enlightened effort. Therefore, awaken each morning with the resolve to see more clearly, to live more honestly, to learn more deeply. For as long as man seeks truth, the flame of divinity burns within him — and by that flame, both God and man are glorified.