Caretakers of Creation

 

Then God said, “Let us make man8 in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and 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. 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.” (Genesis 1:26-28 ESV).

 

The world Moses grew up in had many stories about the origin of humans and their purpose. One ancient story said that some lesser gods were tired of serving higher gods, so they went on strike. Then one of the lesser gods created humans from clay so that they could serve the higher gods. So, humans existed to build and maintain houses for the gods (temples) and to feed the gods through sacrifices.

 

To set things straight, God inspired Moses to explain who really created us and why. The one true God formed humans from dust and gave them life with his own breath (cf. Genesis 2:7); God also created humans in his own image (cf. Genesis 1:26). So, we humans are created through love, not out of necessity or conflict, and we carry God’s authority with us into the world. In other words, we are children of the Lord of the universe, given authority to rule over and care for creation (cf. Genesis 2:15). And if we would reflect God’s wise rule and care for creation, the world would flourish and provide abundantly for us.

 

But our first human parents sinned (cf. Genesis 3), so we have not reflected God’s wise rule and stewardly care. As a result, creation has not flourished but has become chaotic and has actually made life difficult and dangerous. Thankfully, Jesus came to show us the way back to God, and God’s Spirit came to teach us how to live for and serve God in the world till Jesus comes again.