Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26-27
Genesis 1:26-27
Like God…
We are creative: Every human makes things. They take what they have and re-order it to a new purpose or delight. You may not like the cake you baked or the thrift-store table you re-finished, but those are creative acts.
We are spiritual: More than body, we are soul/spirit. We look up, we wonder, we see beyond today’s reality to tomorrow’s hopes and dreams.
We are relational and communicative: Babies who are given food and water, but no nurturing, will sicken and die. To humans alone has been given the gift of language. By that, we reach out to make and build relationships.
We are intelligent: The human mind produces a constant flow of ideas, connections and conclusions and has a way of analyzing that information that is unique to each individual.
We are moral: Although we have fallen far from our initial innocence, we have a conscience that is able to differentiate good from bad and recognize differing consequences.
All these abilities were giving to us by God to equip us for dominion. But dominion is more than “ruling over.” It is fully knowing, creatively managing, constantly improving and, most of all, deeply enjoying.
This dominion had two sides, however. We were created to live under the dominion of a God who fully knows, creatively manages, constantly improves and deeply enjoys each of His children. Under His dominion we can grow in every possible way, intellectually, morally, spiritually, relationally. In knowing Him, in delighting in His ways, we can also discover the source of our deepest security, joy and peace.
Nancy Shirah
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