If we start at the very beginning, that is all the way back in Genesis, this is what we get: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)
Simply put, man is created to be the caretaker of God’s creation. A steward.
We are essentially made from dust – a physical being, and given God’s image – a spirituality. There is a balance. Our habitation is earth. We are to care for our earthly home which is a gift from God. When we failed to value this gift and perverted our ways, disaster struck and a new beginning was given. This has been the story from the beginning and from civilization to civilization. At the pinnacle of every earthly civilization, man perverted his ways and rejected his spirituality (the godliness in him) and eventually suffered destruction. Nile valley, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman civilizations all came to an end. There is a common factor in all – man’s deviation from true spirituality. Idolatry and sexual perversion.
Jesus gave us a wonderful parable – the parable of talents. Through this parable, he taught us clearly what God expects us to do with what we have been given. (See Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27). We are to develop what we are given.
These days, we hear often of people waiting for rapture or others simply giving way to ‘the will of God’ as they see it. There is a cloud of negativity about life and future on earth. Why are some of us obsessed with end-times? There seems to be a massive effort to move forward a fear-based religion. The fear is emphasized during times such as this – in the midst of a global epidemic. Parents are in a daze about the future, and children are shut up inside.
This should not be a time to go about saying its ‘God’s will’. This is an opportunity to reflect on our lives, and change those things which were futile and adopt ways of God which are fruitful. There is a future. There is a glorious future. Who will be brave enough to partake of it? Let us not lose sight of our purpose here on earth. We are to give an account to the Lord who gave us life. There is a wealth of knowledge in the Bible that we need to learn and apply to our lives. God’s word is life-giving.
Varuni Fernando 