We'll scorch the earth
Set fire to the sky
We stoop so low
to reach so high
A link is lost
The chain undone
We wait all day
For night to come
And it comes
Like a hunter child
- Bono
(Christ Jesus) had equal status with God but didn’t think so much
of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no
matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges
of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!
...He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless,
obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
- Phil. 2:6-8 (The Message)
In part one of this post, I began to explore the meaning of the subdue/rule language of the Creation Mandate in Genesis 1:26-28 with the help of Richard Middleton’s book, The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1. If you haven’t already done so, I invite you to take a few minutes to go back and read that post and catch up before continuing with this post.
The reality of the fact that the way humans exercise the power to subdue and rule, which was granted to humanity in the Creation Mandate of Gen. 1:26-28, mirrors the gracious, loving and generous Artisan, the Creator who summons forth a flourishing world out of a dark, primordial chaos, is consequential in how we live out our faith today. The implications are numerous, but today I’d like to discuss two.
First, our general disposition and posture to the world around us should reflect the God who uses his power to create a flourishing and thriving world out of chaos, a creation invited by the Creator to participate in his program as free agents through obedience to his Word. Middleton adds, “Genesis 1 artfully shatters both ancient and contemporary rhetorical expectations and, instead, depicts God as a generous creator, sharing power with a variety of creatures (especially humanity), inviting them (and trusting them—at some risk) to participate in the creative (and historical) process.”[1] This “gracious self-giving”[2] act in creation preludes a gracious and self-giving act in redemption (Phil. 2:5-8). In creation and re-creation, God displays his power in self-giving acts through his powerful Word. This reality should convince us that our acts in and toward the world around us should likewise be self-giving, not self-promoting. {tweetme}As royal representatives of the Creator King, we give ourselves for the flourishing of all of creation, human and non-human alike.{/tweetme}
Second, and more specific, humanity must not use this “self-giving power” as God’s royal representatives to benefit in any way from the abuse of the non-human creation; rather, quite the opposite, those created in the image of their God must subdue and rule in order to ensure creation’s flourishing (which, ironically, is quite determinative to whether or not humanity flourishes, which makes creation care a human justice issue as well). For too long, Christians have, at best, buried their heads and remained silent on how the gospel, rooted in creation, re-creation and consummation of God’s Kingdom, says anything at all as to how the people of God are to think of and treat the non-human creation. At worst, some Christians have operated from a belief that “God’s going to burn the earth in the end,” leading to an exertion of power over creation that abuses for self/human-gain, a worldview in which non-human creation exists for the sake of human creatures. A reading of Genesis 1, as suggested by Middleton and many others, won’t allow for us to either bury our heads on this issue or, worse, subdue and rule the earth for our felt needs. Middleton concludes,
Nevertheless, given the long history of misreading both divine and human power in Genesis 1 (which constitutes an act of violence against the text), perhaps it is time to begin a pattern of reading differently, respecting the alterity of the text, listening for its word to us, attending to its disclosure of God and the human calling. Perhaps, then, our practice of reading (which we might call a hermeneutic of love) would be in harmony with the new ethic of interhuman relationships and ecological practice that we are aiming for and that is rooted in the imago Dei, an ethic characterized fundamentally by power with rather than power over.[3]
A power with rather than power over. Isn’t this exactly what we see in the person and work of Jesus Christ? The Son of God, who put on flesh to be with us and for us. The true human who perfectly reflects the image of the Father in the created world. The Messiah who exerts a power marked by service, most fully on display at the cross, rather than by self-promotion or self-protection. As we continue to think about our great Creator, the creation narrative of Genesis 1 and the language of subdue and rule in the Creation Mandate, may we continue to be transformed into the image of our Savior, faithfully living out the responsibility of royal representatives both, generally, as we orient ourselves to the world around us, and, specifically, in how we care for God’s good creation.[1] Richard Middleton, The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2005), 296.
[2] Watler Brueggemann, Genesis, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1982), 33.
[3] Middleton, 297.
Justin Doyle is a ministry fellow at Brown University. Justin hails from Akron, Ohio. He earned a BS in Secondary Education from Miami University of Ohio and an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. For several years following his undergraduate studies, Justin served in various management roles, including four years as a Strategic Sourcing Manager with PartsSource LLC.
Justin loves everything about the outdoors, enjoying a fantastic cup of coffee with friends, listening to great music, and, above all else, making much of Jesus. Justin and his wife, Jill, stay busy trying to keep up with their three young boys, Graham, Hudson and Brooks.
