S108P5 – Creation story: like Father, like sons (and daughters)

Gen. 1:26-28

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

The big man was a gentle giant, but everyone respected him like the boss he was.  He had built that business from the ground up, and it was to be a legacy for his family for generations to come.  That is why he ruled with a loving but iron fist.  Eventually, his son would join the family business and start to learn the ins and outs from Dad.  The son expected this to be a gradual process, and much of what he had to learn certainly took time, but there was something which became established on his first day.  The dominion which his father had over that business and those employees was given to him right off the bat.  In fact, it was Dad’s first assignment for him, to assert himself in that place as one with authority and power. 

We can read over the same passages of scripture repeatedly and still miss critical points.  I have reviewed the creation story more times than I can remember, and many of you might say the same thing.  Only recently have I been struck by God’s command that man and woman subdue the Earth.  He instructed them to take dominion over all creatures, which seems like a role only the Creator could fill, but that is precisely the point.  God handed over that control to mankind as a way of showing our likeness to him.  In that perfect place, before sin corrupted the hearts of those children, the Father not only allowed but commanded them to walk in the authority He carries. 

God placed a tremendous amount of trust in us when He gave us dominion over creation.  He led us forward to rule as He rules, powerfully but benevolently.  We lost that authority, but Christ has given us new dominion through his work on the cross.  As sons and daughters of the most high God, we are able to walk in his spiritual power, and that shows our renewed likeness to him.  We lost that image in the garden but now have the opportunity to be conformed to it anew.  As children of God, He commands us to boldly walk in the authority which is his. Father, thank You for the dominion You have established for us to carry out in this world.