discovering your purpose
OUR CALLING
1. Our Cultural
Commission
God blessed them and said to them,
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28, NIV)
When we think about God’s intentions for all humanity, our mind often
goes to the ten commandments in
Exodus 20 or to the great commandment in Matthew 22:34-40 (to love
God and then your neighbor), or
even the blessing of Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3 and Galatians 3:29 (I
will bless you…and you will be a blessing). However, God’s first overarching
commandment for every human was
given in the first chapter of Genesis.
This first commandment also started
with a blessing.
In Psalm 8 David repeats this rule over / dominion idea:
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, … O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.
We call this the Creation Mandate or, more broadly, the
Cultural Commission, because it covers all the works of
God’s hands and all things. This mandate to govern covers
all of life.
We see that God made this planet, put it in the solar
system, and put the solar system within the grandness of
the universe. Then he said to us human beings, "Take
what I have made and govern it. Be stewards of what I
have made." All humanity, male and female, has this common shared
purpose. We are to develop what God has made. We are
not only to procreate but to co-create, co-rule, and
co-steward. It takes both male and female, the aspects of
our nature as men and women, to fulfill this mandate.
God made us to be vice-regents (kings and queens) under
his authority. Historically, a regent is a ruler or governor. A
vice-regent is one who is second in authority or acting on
behalf of the regent.
Creation left to itself is incomplete, and humans
are called to be co-creators with God, bringing forth . the potentialities the Creator has hidden. Creation is
full of secrets waiting to be discovered, riddles which
human intelligence is expected by the Creator to unlock.
The world did not spring from the hand of God as wealthy as
human beings might make it.
We are here
to govern - to govern musical notes, words,
language, numbers, architecture, food, medicine,
etc. The world did not spring from the hand of God
as wealthy as humans might make it. I was doing my research and found out that, the
word economics comes from the Greek word,
Oikonomia. Oikos means house. Nomia means
governance. We are here to govern the house.
Whose house? God's house.
Economics is ultimately
about the stewardship, the governance, of creation.
God intends for us, male and female, to govern all
that he has made and to make it more bountiful God didn’t just say eat from the garden. He said to
work the garden. Create orchards and vineyards.
Make dance, music, and beautiful fabrics. Paint
paintings, create symphonies, and write novels.
God
is the creator, and he made us in his image to create.
We're here to co-create with God. When you see the homeless person on the street, they are not defined
by their poverty. No, their true identity is that they
are made in the image of God and put here to rule
over creation and co-create with God. This is the
framework for our very existence no matter where
you live, how rich or poor you are, the language you
speak, or the color of your skin.
When God finished his work of creation, it was
perfect, but it wasn't finished. He now said to those
who bore his image, take what I have given you and
do something with it.
This is the Cultural Commission, and it's why we are
here. He not only gave us the mandate, but Genesis
1:28 says, "And God blessed them." In other words,
God equipped them. He gives each person in the
world what they need in order to do the creative,
governing task that he has uniquely put before
them. His “blessing” includes both internal resource
es and external resources.
In the business world, resources that can be invested for new projects or expanding the business are commonly
referred to as “capital.” Likewise, God has given each of us “capital” or what we need to fulfill the mandate he gave
us. You may feel like you have little or even nothing. But God has given each person capital to invest. You have a
body. You have five senses. You have emotional capital. He has given you the capacity to think creatively.
He's
given you intellectual capital. He's given you the ability to reason and solve problems. He's given you moral capital,
the ability to think between right and wrong. And he’s given you vocational capital, the ability to will, to make decisions. He has blessed us with social capital. We have friends; we have community. What does it mean when people
come together and work together? What is the power of people working together? We have infrastructure. We
have roads and bridges and electricity. We have the ability to imagine those things and build them if we don’t have
them.
We have institutional capital or the ability to create it. We have governments, rule of law, universities, and
educational systems. God has blessed us with all that we each need to fulfill his call in this area in our own life. In
order to use our internal capital, we first need to recognize that we have it. If we don’t think about it, it may be
easily lost or wasted. We need to recognize that we have it, and then we need to be stewards of it.
We need to govern ourselves and govern the capital that God has given us.
Just as God has put potential into a single seed, he has
placed great potential in each human being. We may
think our potential is very small or limited. But think of
a small seed and what it can produce. Consider a
mango seed. In the span of a human lifetime, how
many mangoes can one mango seed produce? In com
parison to a plant or tree seed, think of the fact that
God made human beings in his image and then blessed
them and purposed them to govern and rule over all
creation.
Amazing! No matter how weak and poor we are, we
must never say I am nothing. We must never say I
have nothing. That is not the language of God. No,
we are made a little lower than the angels, but we
are made to rule over the works of God's hands.
Wow! How do you see your life? What is the world
view framework in which you are living? Is this it? This is the true framework.
The Cultural Commission is comprehensive. It's in
chronological time for all of human history. It's in
space over all the earth. It’s over all the spheres of
society – family, business, political governance,
science, education, the arts, and agriculture.
Reflection Questions to help us discover ourselves deeper:
- What are the internal and external resources God has “blessed” you with? List them.
- Are we first and foremost consumers? Or are we first producers?
- What are you called to govern over? How are you currently developing the internal and external resources God has given you? What did you do in the past month to develop these?
- How are you helping others to embrace their governing role? How can you help a homeless person recognize and fulfill his or her cultural commission?
- What significant thing did you learn or think about? What action do you need to take? What do you want to remember from this lesson?
2 . Discipling our Cultures
We are culture creators
A husband and wife create the culture of their family. A business owner works hard
to create a successful business culture. A coach works to create a culture in a sports
team that will result in high performance. We can see how
intellectuals, artists, and professionals influence the culture of a society.
The term “cultural commission” implies that our “creative” work on this earth
includes the formation or shaping of culture.
''Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
What is culture?
Culture is “the way we do things
around here.” Cultures can represent
an entire nation or a much smaller
subgroup.
Culture is powerful.
It is not neutral. It determines the
kinds of societies we build and the
communities we live in. It also shapes
us. It’s been said that we are the prod
uct of our culture.
We are the product of culture but we are also to be the creator of culture. Genesis 1:28 says, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”
The smallest cultural unit is the family. To have children and create a family is to create a culture. Multiple families create a community, and communities create a soci ety with businesses, economic systems, laws, and institutions
How do we create Kingdom culture through our
work?
A good starting point is to simply do good, and even
more specifically, do good work.
The Bible says a lot about the concept of good and
doing good. In speaking creation into existence God
uses the word good seven times in Genesis 1. In
Genesis 2, God uses it five times.
Psalm 34 says the Lord is good, and those who seek
him lack no good thing and whoever desires to see
many good days should turn from evil and do good.
Psalm 37 says to trust in the Lord and do good. Turn
from evil and do good.
Psalm 119:68 (NIV) says of the Lord, “You are good,
and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.”
We see the idea of good and doing good throughout
the New Testament.
Jesus said, “But love your enemies, do good to
them.” (Luke 6:35)
2 Corinthians 9:8 reads, “And God is able to bless
you abundantly, so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need, you will abound in every
good work.” (Greek word for work is ἔργων (ergōn)
.
In Paul’s final charge to Timothy, he reminds him
that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profit
able for teaching “…that the man of God may be
complete, equipped for every good work.” Again the
Greek word used here is ἔργων (ergōn). (2 Timothy
3:16-17)
Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works [ἔργοις (ergo
is) plural of ἔργων (ergōn)], which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Often, we read these last three verses and think of
good work as moral goodness. That is, we are not
lying or stealing in our work, etc. Or we think of good work as random acts of kindness like helping an old
person cross the street. These are both good things
to do, but the underlying idea in this word ἔργων
(ergōn) is actually vocational. The words are literally
what someone would say to describe doing good
quality work in their job. In Christ Jesus that is what
we are created to do. In Genesis 1 God declared his
work of creation good and very good. We who are
made in the image of God are called to do the same.
We are to do “very good” work. This is God’s glory.
Reflection quetion;
- What kind of culture is your community working to create? Does it lead to flourishing or to brokenness and poverty?
- When Jesus talks to his followers about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world in Matthew 5:13-16, was he talking about creating culture? What do you think?
3. Your Vocation –
Your Calling
As believers and followers of Jesus we are the “called out ones” as
discussed earlier. As the “called out ones” we also have a calling.
The Latin word vocare means “to call” and it is the root word from which we get the
word “vocation.” Every person has a general call and a particular call.
The General Call
The general call of each person is to
salvation and to follow /obey Christ as
members of his body. We live and
express this general call within the
context of three mandates from God
to us:
- The Great Commandment – to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.
- The Great Commission – to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that Christ com manded.
- The Cultural Commission – given at Creation: to cultivate; develop the land; create Kingdom culture (truth, goodness, beauty)
We can say that the general call of every
person is to know God through his Son
and to live under the rule of God – that
is, to live the kingdom of God, and to
help others know God and live under
his rule.
This is our general call.
Our particular call is the unique context
in which God has placed each of us and
the unique way in which he has made us
in order to live out this general call.
The Particular Call
Each person is created by God uniquely
and for a purpose. There is no such thing
as an ordinary person. Every human life
is unique and valuable to God. Psalm
139:14 says we are fearfully and won
fearfully made. Current worldviews tell
us that a person’s value and identity are
primarily linked to his tribe, ethnicity,
and race. But the Bible makes clear that
God sees and values our individuality.
God knows our names, thoughts, comings and goings, and the number of hairs
on our heads. There are about eight
billion people on this earth and no two
are alike. Think about that. Each of us is a
unique expression for reflecting the
image of God to creation and for carrying out God’s eternal purposes. In this
sense, we each have a particular call. An important expression of your particular call is your
work and vocation.
As mentioned in an earlier lesson, we each have internal and external capital that God gives us to use. This
includes the hours of our days and the days of our lives,
reason and creativity, natural talents, skills, and abilities, as well as our interests.
For those who have been redeemed by Christ, there is
also the special grace of salvation, the Holy Spirit, and
spiritual gifts.
God invests much in every person, not so that they
become an end in themselves but for his good purposes. His good purposes include good for people and for
the world. The end of which is God’s glory.
You can discover your particular call by looking at
where God has placed you and how God has made you
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