The Sixth Day

 Genesis 1: 26-31

“26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

28 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 air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

God created humankind in His image and gave them dominion over every living thing on earth, plants and animals, seeds and fruits.  

Being created in His image meant that we were capable of love, grace, mercy, kindness, goodness, forgiveness, patience, wisdom, righteousness and justice, truthfulness and faithfulness.

God gave us free will so that we could choose the path of love, grace, mercy, etc. over other options.    After all, none of these attributes would mean anything if we could not freely choose them.

Dominion meant that humankind was to choose to manage God’s earth with the attributes of His image (love, grace, mercy, etc.,).

Instead, because of humankind’s bent to sin and fallenness, we have twisted the definition of dominion to mean dominance and control.  As a result, the earth is suffering under our dominion.

Almost a year before he died, Professor Stephen Hawking, a world renowned physicist, wrote that, in his estimation as well as other scientists, humankind has 100 years to find another planet and move to it before the earth becomes uninhabitable.

If we move to a new planet in a 100 years or so, will our basic nature as humans remain the same?  Will we manage the new planet in a different way that we managed the one God created for us?  

Will we choose to manage it as God would manage it?  

Will we manage it in His image?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)