CALL TO A LIFE OF IMPACT (5)

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; HAVE DOMINION OVER...” – Genesis 1:28a

God’s Mandate of Dominion to Humankind at Creation was a CALL to a LIFE of IMPACT: “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; HAVE DOMINION OVER the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen.1:28). In the first four Days, God had created the environment for life to thrive – Light, day, night, the firmament, Earth, Seas, plant life, and the great lights – the Sun, moon, and stars. Then, He commanded the waters to “abound with an abundance of living creatures,” birds to fly “across the face of the firmament,” and He “created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind...” (vv.20-21).

Plant and animal species were “mass produced” to fill up their habitats – the dry land, waters, and skies – but also blessed to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth...Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind...” (vv.22,24). God released precise instructions to each element in creation. Yet, none of these were made in His Image or likeness, until the Sixth Day, when God said, “Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion...” (v.26a). Human creation warranted the Involvement of the Trinity – “Let Us...”!

Every other living thing had God’s blessings and potential to be fruitful and to multiply, but only Man received the Mandate of DOMINION OVER the rest of creation. Only Man was made in God’s Image and Likeness, to rule over everything else on earth as God rules over the Universe: “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; but the earth He has given to the children of men” (Psa.115:16). Moreover, Man was “custom-made,” not mass-produced; created “male and female’ – to fit and fulfil Divine Purpose.

Only Man was mandated to “subdue” the earth and “have dominion over” the fish, the birds, and every living thing that moves on the earth (v.28b). To exercise dominion means to have and use delegated power and authority to rule over and control God’s creation. As His Image-bearers, we are meant to rule the world as a reflection of God’s rule. We are to exercise authority over the rest of the created world, faithfully representing God through our words and actions, such as how we administer our homes, career, work, and ministries to others.

Finally, only Human creation was evaluated to be “VERY GOOD” (v.31). All preceding evaluations were simply “GOOD.” Beloved, our Call to a Life of Impact is a Call to Dominion and Excellence!