davidbowerkingwood

A Privilege and an Opportunity!

In Genesis 1:26 it is written:

^“26 Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

To me, that verse carries great significance and weight; human beings are created in the image of God and were originally given the authority to reign over the living creatures that had been spoken into existence. After Adam’s fall and God’s curse on creation, that was altered and those alterations continue to this day.

Originally, Adam would commune with God directly, Adam was to be God’s representative to the balance of his creation; human beings were to be God’s face to it; human beings were to be a living expression of God’s loving care to his creation and those innocent animals that inhabited it!

God’s plan was put on hold by Adam’s sinful disobedience to God’s command and fear of man was placed in the hearts of the precious creatures over which man was intended to reign.

At a point yet future, that will all be reversed but the time has not yet come. Today, the confidence of animals must be won by experience; fortunately, vestiges of the loving care for animals exists in some people and can be found all over the world on both a large and a small scale. Both public and private organizations exist for the sole purpose of protecting the lives and well-being of animals.

A Unique Solution

In his grace to mankind, God has given us the chance for a fresh start; during the church age, all who receive Jesus Christ as Savior are given a new birth with a restored, living spirit and indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit. In addition, the old sin nature we inherited from Adam, is considered to have been crucified with Christ at the time of salvation.

Our restored lives become the life of Christ and we are permitted to do the good works of Christ as his representatives. The first verse that always comes to my mind is Galatians 2:20 where it is written:

“²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.“

This has been my favorite life-verse for many years; I truly love the thought of Christ Jesus living his life in me! What a privilege to be a vessel by which he can minister to all those with whom I come in contact. While I am painfully aware of the flaws in my spiritual essence, I am also aware, by faith, of the transformation being affected in it by the will of God.

I rejoice in the promise given in Romans 8:28-30 where it is written:

“²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.“

Although still a work in progress, the future is filled with hope and confidence!

Our Responsibility

As living vessels of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a grave responsibility to let the Lord Jesus Christ truly live out his life in us; our lives simply must be a reflection of his loving grace and mercy to his creation! The Church Age is also known as the Age of Grace; it is this grace that we, as Christians, must manifest in our lives as God’s ambassadors to all of his creation!

While Jesus Christ died for the sins of the entire world, those who have not received salvation and deliverance by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior are still under the wrath of God and bound by the chains of sin! To them, we are Christ’s ambassadors of hope and it is to them we must present the good news of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord!

Our faces and our actions should convey the loving care Jesus Christ would exhibit to his creation if he were here in person. Whether we interact with people or animals we are God’s ambassadors to them and by God’s grace, when they look at us, they’ll see a reflection of the face of Jesus Christ.