Tuesday, 4 April 2017

East Ridge Pres

Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. We were created in the image of God, but by our sin that image of God was marred and disfigured in us. Vandalized. Defaced. Mutilated. But we need Christ in order to be human. We are recreated in Jesus. Jesus who is the new perfect image of God. “Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 Jesus died on the cross with the goal of making us whole human beings. Restoring the image of God fully. Grace restores nature. Grace restores humanity. Graces makes us truly human, because a full human is a being made in the image of God. Even though Adam was made in the image of God he still had the duty to obey God and grow to a much greater maturity. A duty he rejected. Adam did not have the highest humanity. A greater humanity is in Jesus Christ and it is to this goal he leads us. This means that ordinary human vocations are service in the kingdom of God. Christians can honorably serve God in vocations other than pastor or missionary. The ministers serve the laity, but Christians are not to all be ministers! Every church should be a few ministers and many lay men and women. The laity do the human work of the community. They work in creation for the good of other humans. Most Christians are given vocations for this earth. Humans are given a double task to fill the earth and rule over it. Some are ministers and preach the gospel. Some are given a celibate task. But most of us are fruitful, have children, and rule over the earth. We have six days of earthly work to do every week. Heaven is future as is the seventh, Sabbath day, when we rest from our work. As long as we are in this creation, we have human work in creation to do. It is not enough to be personally reconciled to God, there is more, much more! Now begins the work of serving God in our human vocations.