Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The Dominion Mandate

If we are to "stop playing games" as advocated in the previous post, one of the ways to do that would be to bring the Dominion Mandate to the forefront of our thinking.

In Genesis 1:28-29, God presents what is commonly referred to as "The Dominion Mandate," the command to take dominion over creation. This was an original command, presented in the Garden prior to the fall. It has never been revoked. Thus, it is still applicable for the Christian today and should guide his every thought.

"How is what I am doing today helping to take dominion over the earth and advance the Kingdom of God in my sphere of influence?"

How would a question like that affect our lives if asked and answered each and every day? How would it affect our spending patterns? How would it affect our prayer life? How would it affect our relations with our neighbors? How would it affect our recreational choices? How would it affect our choice of vocation? How would it affect our family relations? How would it affect the way we choose to raise our children? How would it affect...you fill in the blank!

When you consider the implications of our responsibility as Christians to take dominion and to work to spread the Kingdom, it should jar your thinking out of the rut that is our evangelical culture. What a massive vision! What an incredible responsibility! We have only been given so much time on this earth. Will we let another day pass without turning our hearts and our minds away from the trivial items which so often clog our lives to the big picture of what our Lord and God has commanded us to do? Will we let this command serve as a framework in which we organize our lives? Can you imagine what a different culture we would live in if all those who named the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior actually started living in such a manner that they took dominion and spread the Kingdom?

Hoping and praying for more Dominion-takers....

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