God’s First Call

Genesis 1:27-28

So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 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.”

If God had presented the first man and woman with a job description as human beings, at the top of the list would be steward. God’s priorities for humankind are on display in the very first chapter of Genesis. God gives human beings the task of managing God’s creation.

To be given dominion does not, in this context, mean to dominate or exploit, but as image-bearers of God, human beings share God’s providential care. Our calling is not to use and abuse what God has given to us for selfish ends. As image-bearers, humankind is more than a group of individuals, we are a plurality, made male and female, sharing with God the capacity for community, the capacity for love. This means every human being is created for relationship. Each of us can choose to love. Each of us can choose not to love. Choosing to love makes us more like God who is Love. Choosing not to love is the essence of sin.

Choosing again and again to love, be it our spouse, our children, our neighbour, the stranger, and even our enemies is what sets us human beings apart from the rest of God’s creation. And it provides the essential perspective from which to fulfil our calling as stewards, as managers of this world in which we live, and the time that is ours in this life. Because of God’s call on our lives, we work to see all life flourish.

Reflection Questions

Read Genesis 1:28 out loud inserting your name in God’s command: “(Your name) be fruitful . . . “ How does God’s creation call on your life as a steward challenge the way you are spending your time and resources today? Ask the Spirit to show you how you can manage your time, your talents, and your resources differently to bring your life more into line with whom God has made and called you to be?