Genesis 1:28. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…”
Because we were created in the image of God, we have dominion over all creation. As image bearers we represent the rule of God. We are the highest of all creation. The only person or thing that stands above us is God himself. Here’s how the Psalmist expressed it:
Psalm 8:1, 3-8. 1O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! 3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [or God] and crowned him with glory and honor. 6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
This is the destiny of mankind. Who are we? We are the servant kings and servant queens of creation. The representatives of God himself on Earth. Graciously crowned with the glory and honor that only God can give but that can never be earned on our own. We are not meant to establish our own kingdoms or build our own empires; we are made to represent THE King of the universe – Yahweh, God.
And what kind of king is God? God is the king who is also the gardener, shepherd, and servant. Our king gets his hands dirty. Our sovereign doesn’t sit idly by on his throne in his “ivory tower,” and neither do we. We are called to work as he works, serve as he serves, shepherd as he shepherds, and create and cultivate like our gardener-king.
One of the best examples in the Bible of this royal relationship that we have with God is the story of Joseph. Joseph was elevated out of the prison cell where he was doomed to fade into obscurity. But because Joseph had the love of God’s covenant and the power of God’s Spirit, he was crowned with glory and honor in the court of the King of Egypt, the Pharaoh. Only the Pharaoh would stand above Joseph who now wore the image of the king on his hand. And how did Joseph use his dominion over Egypt? He literally saved the world. He navigated one of the greatest natural disasters in human history. Beyond this, he saved his own family, his brothers who had despised him and rejected him. With great compassion, grace, and wisdom, Joseph preserved the life of his brother, Judah, who had plotted against him, but would one day be the forefather of Jesus himself.
Jesus. The God-man. THE Image of God. The restoration of humanity to our place in this world – kings and queens ruling with glory and honor, grace and compassion, courage and wisdom, humility and dependence, love and light.
Christian, in Christ your rule and reign with him doesn’t begin “someday,” it begins now. And it begins with serving others. In Mark 10, Jesus told his disciples exactly how to rule. Not lording it over others, but serving others as the “slave of all.” Such humility was a radical concept in Christ’s day, and it still is today. Jesus, the Son of David, is the great Shepherd-King who never demanded the lives of others, but rather gave his life for others.
In our union with Christ, we too are shepherd-kings and shepherd-queens called to live this great adventure for the good of others and the glory of God.
Questions: What makes it difficult for you to see yourself as a king/queen crowned with glory and honor? Where is your “realm” that God has given you charge over? How can you be a shepherd-king/queen in your realm?
To Live is Christ 