Section Three: The Lifestyle Characteristics of a Godly Life.

Our current theme: Characteristic Two: Serving Christ in the Workplace.                      

Our reading for today: Genesis 1: 26-28 (MsgB)

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in Our image, make them reflecting Our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings; He created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

Sadly, there are some who believe that if one desires to grow closer to God, they must increasingly distance themselves from the world in which we live. Yet the Bible is very clear…even from the very beginning.

God created men and women for a purpose. And that purpose is for us to live lives of purpose, glorifying our Creator in everything that we do and say. So a true disciple/follower of Jesus will never pull away from society, abandoning the world in order to grow closer to God, but in truth, just the opposite. As we see it, a person who desires to glorify Jesus with their life is looking to become what we define as Christ-centered 3-C contemplative activists: men and women who live well-balanced lives that include seasons of intimate communion with God combined with times when we go out into our world, interacting fully with it.

This interaction with the world is first defined in the Scriptures right at the very beginning. In Genesis 1, even as God is putting His finishing touches upon His creation called Earth, He leans over to His newly-created masterpieces, the human beings Genesis calls Adam and Eve, and whispers a strong word of encouragement into their ears…

Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.

This God-commission to go into our world, becoming divinely-directed stewards of creation, is the very first indication from God that He has a plan for all of us to be pro-actively involved with this wide, wide world He has made. Later on, throughout the biblical text, we’ll find that this Genesis-commission can be easily summarized using a four-letter word most of us don’t like to hear:

W-O-R-K.

In truth, God did not create men and women to sit on our duffs, twiddling our thumbs (or use them to play gaming apps on our I-phones) as we all watch the world go to hell in a handbasket! And while some today see the concept of work as part of The Fall of Adam & Eve, as I see it, it’s actually just the opposite.

Over the next nine blog sessions, we’ll take a look at how Jesus fully expects us, as His followers, to be pro-actively involved with our world, becoming the Holy Spirit-directed stewards of creation, the Book of Genesis sees us to be.

I like the way Pope Francis states it:

The book of Genesis tells us that God created man and woman entrusting them with the task of filling the earth and subduing it, which does not mean exploiting it, but nurturing and protecting it, caring for it through their work.

So, gotta stop now. Time to go to W-O-R-K… doing my part in nurturing and protecting, for the cause of Christ. Wanna join me?

My prayer: Father God, it’s obvious that You never intended for me to pull away from this world, hiding away from the responsibility to You gave me to be a blessing to this creation of Yours. I’ve often seen work in a negative way, as something I must do rather than something You’ve actually created and commissioned me to do. Help me see the importance of my work through the eyes of Christ. For Your name’s sake. Amen.

My questions to ponder: So what needs to change in the way I view my job or my profession? Am I seeing it like much of the world sees it, a necessary evil to put bread on the table, or am I able to embrace my work as a job-assignment from God, commissioned by Him to go and be the blessing Jesus desires me to be?

So what is God speaking to you today as we attempt to live the Christ-centered life?

Over a thirty-six week period, you and I will take a deeper look into twelve key characteristics of a godly life. In other words, we’ll take A Journey into Christian Discipleship. In order to keep all the blog sessions organized, we suggest you bookmark our Journey home page for ease of use. ENJOY!

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