By Christopher Dryden & Shirley Rosemarie Evans
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image.
In the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
Genesis 1:26-28 NLT
As God completed creation, in His wisdom, He chose to create humanity in His image, and that reflection was one who could have dominion. Even as He is ruler over all that He has created, He graciously gave dominion to the creature designed to reflect Him. But what does it mean to have dominion?
Having dominion is about being good managers of what’s given to our care. What’s given to our care is the environment in which we live. Humans are given the responsibility to nurture it to bring about flourishing. It’s a responsibility given to humans working together, complementing each other, as males and females are given that honour.
How are we doing with that? Observing human behaviour today, we can see that we’ve made a mess of that obligation. Rather than focusing on harmonious work together to bring out the best in what’s around us, we’re either selfishly looking to preserve our own way of living or viciously looking to rule over each other in one form or another. Equally as bad, some of us have made the environment a religion to such a degree that our worth as those bearing God’s image is minimised in efforts to either “save” the environment or pay homage to it at the cost of the value of humans.
This is not the total picture, however. Throughout history and evident today, there are those who recognise the wayward nature of humanity and see that it can only be solved by returning to the Creator who made us in His image to take care of this world in a way that honours Him. There are those who look to Jesus as someone who displayed what it was to reflect the rule of the Father. Some see how He interacted with others and His environment in a way to bring them back in line with what the Father had in mind. As they return to God, they celebrate the honour of bearing His image in a complementary relationship with each other for the benefit of the environment around us.
We have a choice as to who we’ll reflect today. We can reflect the world around us that chooses to reject its Creator and pursue avenues that lead to further corruption and pollution of the mind, relationships and the environment. Or we can reflect the Creator and pursue what makes for peace and true prosperity flourishing in the rule of the Holy One.
Ask: What does having dominion mean to you today?
Seek: How are you reflecting God’s character in your stewardship?
Knock: Give God thanks for His wonderful creation and ask Him to help you to reflect Him in your daily stewardship of what He’s given to you.
