What is the purpose of life? That is a question posed by every philosophy professor and studied by philosophy students worldwide. God, our creator, wants us to know the answer, so he spells it out in the very first chapter of the Bible:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” Gen 1:27-28.
The expression, “image of God” is used uniquely with reference to human beings and so sets them apart from the other creatures. Whereas the other creatures are created, “according to their kinds” (Gen. 1:21,24,25), humanity is made “in the image of God.” Three aspects of being created in God’s image give clues to our purpose as human beings.
1. Being made in God’s image means that we are created with a capacity to communicate with God. Communication is the foundation for all relationships. Deeply rooted in the concept of being made in God’s image is the truth that we were created to enjoy fellowship with God, himself, portrayed in Genesis 3 as walking together in the garden in the cool of the day. (Notice how this corresponds to Called TO Christ.)
2. Being God’s image bearer means that we, like God, have a moral, spiritual nature. We are aware of right and wrong, having the moral law of God written on our hearts. Since we are the rulers of the created world, we are to make every decision in the earthly kingdom in accordance with to God’s holiness. We were created to be like God in holiness. The irony is that our parents wanted to be like God but not in holiness but in authority and status. To be made in God’s image is to be given the high calling of showing his moral attributes to the created world. (We are Called to BE LIKE Christ.)
3. Adam and Eve were created to rule over creation as their kingdom. In the Ancient Near East it was widely believed that kings were the image-bearers of the god’s their people worshiped. When the king ruled, he was acting FOR (on behalf of) the ultimate king--God. Adam and Eve are created the king and queen of creation to rule as viceregents (under-kings) for Yahweh, the ultimate King. Notice in the Genesis 1 text above, that the concept of being made in God’s image flows right into subduing the earth and having dominion over the created world. The text is saying that exercising royal dominion over the earth as God’s representative is the basic purpose for which God created man. (We are Called TO EXERCISE DOMINION FOR Christ.)
As Adam and Eve were fruitful, multiplying and filling the earth, a way of going about life’s tasks emerged, which we call culture. The way the first couple’s children related to each other, the way they developed an economic system as diversification of skills and labor took place, the way they discovered and utilized the potential God built into their kingdom—every aspect of life—was part of the culture that was being built. And every aspect of culture in their kingdom (earth) was to be SHAPED FOR GOD i.e. in a way that pleased The Holy One. This calling to exercise dominion for Him by shaping culture has been called the cultural mandate.
God has never rescinded this mandate. To be a disciple of Christ is NOT to withdraw from culture, but to shape it. The command, “Love not the world neither the things of the world” never was intended to be a call to separate from the world. Rather, it means our affections must never be set upon the things of this world. Our first love must always be for God and God alone. But it is because we do love God that we love his creation, a mirror of God’s glory, and want to see it set free from the ravages of sin. It is because we love God’s creation that we want to exercise dominion over every aspect of our lives while on planet earth FOR him. And in the areas of culture that we don’t control, we still seek to shape culture through our INFLUENCE. In Jesus’ words, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.” Both salt and light transform their surroundings. Salt retards moral decay, and the light gives sight to a culture blinded by sin.
For further thought
1. List 4 or 5 things you love about God’s marvelous creation.
2. Ask God to show you a practical way this week to be salt or light, winsomely impacting your niche in the culture towards righteousness.
Resources:
For a brief, but fuller, explanation of how Genesis 1 defines our discipleship mission, here is a link to six pages (25-32) from my doctoral dissertation, Discipling the Hearts of Men Through Kingdom Theology.
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