Each week I am finding myself more and more excited about what I am
learning! It seems to me that the Lord is showing me that, yes, there is such a thing as an octogenarian little child, just starting Kindergarten! Thanks so much for being willing to check out my ramblings!
As we continue to look at why we were created by God, today I want to be sure we are aware of the “big-picture;” the framework into which all the details and practical applications of truth fit. The old saying, “If you aim at nothing you will surely hit it” is true here. What are we shooting for?
Therefore, the smallest details, the most seemingly accidental occurrences, are all ordained—parts of a purposeful whole, planned by God, “who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) It is important to see that these small, “insignificant” details are crucial parts of God’s overall plan.
Following is my big-picture outline of “Why am I here?” that we are currently discussing. This is what I believe our lives on the earth are all about. Much of this I have discussed in some detail in these postings over the months, but I want to put it together so we can see how it all fits together into God’s plan for mankind. The postings over the months have not been stream of consciousness, random, spiritual truths which are complete in themselves, but are coherent parts of a comprehensive, grand whole.
A. THE VISION – (that we have been investigating) – It is the commission given to each of us who make up “mankind.” That vision is found in Genesis 1:26-28, summarized here::
1.) To Reflect God’s image (vs. 26), i.e., to think, say, and do only what God thinks, says and does, increasingly more accurately..
2.) To Rule over the earth and all it contains (vs. 26, 28) as God’s image-bearer. “To rule” means to apply the law of God in all situations on the earth over which we, as His vice-regents, are to rule. This establishes God’s Kingdom, for which we are exhorted to pray in the Lord’s Prayer (“Thy Kingdom come…”), and it happens wherever we go and in whatever we do!..
3.) To Reproduce and fill the whole earth with offspring who will follow us in our ruling task (vs. 27, 28). We will accomplish this with our wives at our sides, who are ruling with us
B. THE INTERNAL TOOLS – that God has given us individually to fulfill our mandate. In order to successfully exercise the following tools more and more faithfully, it is important that we, as Jesus said in each of the synoptic gospels, “become as little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17).
I believe this means that in order to live in the Kingdom of God (to rule over it, I must live in it!), I will become just like a little four-year-old-child, simply doing what Daddy tells me to do. I need to know nothing about “good and evil,” “right or wrong,” or “making good choices and not bad ones.” I simply trust that “Daddy knows” and takes care of all that! I just let Daddy “Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness” (Psalm 5:8). I need to know nothing myself, independently, about what to do, but simply do what Daddy tells me to do in my heart.
In order to walk in this way, here are the tools little children use:
1.) We Remember the cross and what happened there. Jesus cried as He died, “It is finished!” signifying His death for our sins, that is so final and effective that God has forgotten those sins completely (Hebrews 812)! At that cross, we also died in Christ ourselves (Galatians 2:20), and Satan was finally stripped of his power as well (Colossians 2:15)! Peter says that if we fail to remember the cross and our permanently secured salvation there, our walk with God is severely hindered (2 Peter 1:8, 9)! The communion meal, that the church celebrates together whenever we meet as the church, is to remind us of these facts (1 Corinthians 11:24, 25).
2.) We Repent (1 John 1:4-10; Romans 3:9-12;Psalm 51; Hebrews 12:15’ and legions of other passages). God’s solution is not for us, now as believers, to try harder to “obey God.” NO! It is facing the sin God has clearly shown us, eagerly embracing the fact that it is there and we are helpless to change, and then openly and publicly confessing and repenting (changing our minds about it).
This is where our addiction to good and evil will raise its ugly head and tell us that we can still preserve a semblance of goodness and not be perfectly transparent about everything. Walking “fully in the light” and confessing my sins openly is the “canary in the coal mine” for me in my walk by faith. If I am doing this with joy (1 Thessalonians 5:16), I am “walking by faith!”
3.) We Rest, the rest of faith! We believe exactly what Daddy says. When He says He loves me (as He does again and again in the Bible), I believe Him. When He says He is living through me by His Spirit (Galatians 2:20), I believe Him. When He says He will change my “want-tos” to coincide with His, I believe Him. When He says He will keep the law of God through me (Romans 8:4), I believe Him. When He says that everything that happens to me is for my benefit (Romans 8:28, 29) and is cause for giving thanks, even rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18. I believe Him—because “Daddy’s got it, and He loves me!”
So, to Remember, to Repent, and to Rest are our internal tools, equipping us to rule over the earth. We are ready to attack! But wait just a minute. God has a battle plan, including suppling us with external weapons for us to use, that make us undefeatable. That’s next week.
