An excerpt from my book Calming the Chaos:
The fact that God created us in his image means that we resemble and represent him. This enormous and humbling responsibility requires that we show the world God’s love, mercy, and grace. And although we feel inadequate, our faith is emboldened to learn and grow.
In his letter to all people of faith, Peter inspires and encourages us:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
In addition, Jesus instructed his disciples to:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)
Known as Great Commission, Jesus’ instructions apply to you and me. That’s not to say that we are all baptizers or teachers, but we are called to view the world as God’s mission field, whether the field is next door or in another country. By accepting God’s invitation to participate in his divine nature, we can respond beautifully to the brokenness in the world. However, we would do well to remember that just because we participate in God’s divine nature doesn’t mean we are exactly like him. We are still sinners. Nevertheless, as we grow in intimacy with God, we find ourselves responding to all that he is.
We are the pinnacle of God’s creation. He gave himself to us and we are his dearly beloved. Still, to claim we are worthy of such as relationship is a bit reckless. Instead, let’s respond to God by loving him as our dearly beloved.
New thoughts:
Right now, our culture is begging for intimacy with someone or something stable. Within our innermost self, we crave belonging to a community, we want to know that we are worthy, we need the promise of better things to come, and an ability to cope in a constructive way. Please don’t think I am ignorant of the real problems in our country right now. I am not. I have learned from some harrowing events in my own life, that an authentic relationship with God requires more than believing in him. I learned the hard way that I must seek him with all my heart, mind, and soul to cope constructively, to belong, to find stability, and to believe that better things will come.
Thus, with our desire to take the Great Commission seriously, now is the time to love our neighbors, even those different from us.
We all have a story. What is your story? If you want your story to be a part of the Grand Story, seek God. Questions? Ask. I will answer. Go down the page to “Leave a Reply”
Next time: God Doesn’t Force Us to Grow (God has provided limitless resources that teach us how to show his imprint on the world.)