Responsibility is Ruling
By Zach Chronley
Genesis 1:26-30 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground… “
Rulers
For all of us, we tend to live out the categories we place ourselves in. If we see ourselves as a failure, it becomes harder to take big swings and risk failure. If you believe yourself to be entitled to certain things, your behaviors will always reveal it.
Genesis 5:3 tells us, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.” Seth was the son of Adam and in his image, and the same way to be in the image of God then is to be his son (or daughter). This series is about seeing all the different ways we image God. The son or daughter of God is given an identity. Eve believes a lie about her identity. That in some way, she was not like God. We need to remember our identities in Christ Jesus.
Humans then were called to follow God’s pattern. To be fruitful and multiply and “rule” the world. To spread out Eden into the rest of the world. If Eden expansion was the first mission of humanity, our mission was renewed and restored by Jesus. Now we are expanding Christ’s Kingdom as royal representatives. How does the new identity we take in Christ line with being a “ruler?”
Ruling Is Responsibility
Understanding the role of a ruler in our day is often misunderstood. How easy is it for most of us to hear words like dominion and think of oppression? However, when God tells Adam and Eve to rule in the garden, he attaches that part of our dominion is the conservation of the green plants for animals to eat. Ruling is responsibility. Some have taken this identity of ruler and misused it to justify abusing other images of God as well as creation, but God’s design is that we would be caretakers of creation and that we would care for the “least of these.”
A ruler in the mind of an ancient reader also fulfilled the role of judge. Judging wisely and righteously is a major theme of proverbs. A ruler makes wise judgments over his dominion. As Jesus said, he wants us to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents. We cannot be intellectually lazy in our lives. The enemy first led us astray by twisting God’s words against God’s disciples. A foolish ruler is a liability.
Why would God make rulers when he is the ultimate ruler over heaven and earth? Because God is an incredible collaborator. His sovereign choice in creation was to co-labor with human image-bearers. Humanity’s first task is to co-rule with God, whose image we bear. Being a ruler and a steward then can be thought of synonymously. We act as stewards of God’s creation. We act as shepherd charged with the King’s sheep. Jesus the King is our lead shepherd.
God Rules
When humanity sinned, God took responsibility for finding a solution for humanity’s salvation. Jesus took responsibility for our sins when he elected to come to Earth and bear the sins of the world. No one took his life from him, but he willingly laid it down for all of us, and after his resurrection, he ascended and took his seat at the throne at the right hand of God the Father.
As in all things, we look to Jesus to be our example of what a ruler should be. Jesus came not to be served but to serve. He is the king over all creation. As Jesus proclaimed at the beginning of the great commission, “All authority under heaven and on earth has been given to me.” As we are reminded, Jesus was the image of God but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant.
In Matthew 23:11, Jesus said, “the greatest among you will be your servant.'“ To rule in the image of Jesus is to be a longsuffering servant, one who values others as more highly than themselves, but one who takes complete responsibility for his domain. We are called to lay down our lives in the service of our friends and family.
God-Given Domains
Where has God given you domain? Firstly, in your own relationship with Him. God invites us to spend time with him daily, and it is our responsibility not to neglect meeting with him through prayer and reading his word. It’s more than just a single quiet time but finding time throughout our days to with him. Some may listen to worship music on a drive, and others might use the silence to speak with our God. We need to be in the habit of constant confession and praise to our Lord.
Next, God has given us dominion in our families and relationships. Whatever family situation we have, we are called to serve whatever family God has given us. God has called husbands to love and serve their wives, fathers to children, wives to husbands, children to parents, and so on. Is your wife suffering? Take responsibility; tenderly move towards discerning the cause and partner with her in taking steps toward a solution. Are your child’s grades falling? Take responsibility; do not blame the teacher, but work with your child, study with them, or find someone to help them.
God has called us to take responsibility in the domain of our jobs. We work as though the Lord himself were our boss, and we work beyond the bare minimum. We see our work as a space God has given us dominion, and so we work to honor him. Even if we have unjust bosses, we remember how the already anointed king David responded when King Saul tried to kill him. He just kept dodging the spears being thrown at him and waited patiently for God’s deliverance. King Jesus endured all on the cross and asked God to “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And we are called to the same, in all things.
God is calling each of us to honor him. We need to be able to take responsibility for our lives. Not everything is within our control, but we need not excuse the areas in which we do have domain. Where today is God calling you to exercise dominion and take responsibility? Where are you called to lay down your life and give your time in the of image Christ?