4.23.26 ~ Builder vs. Bystander, Part 4: Imaging God

During this third week of counting the Omer—day 19—I want to remind you that, during your obedience and overcoming, God is impressed and proud of you! I hope you have sensed that this week. More on this during our 9:00 a.m. Zoom call today (The Pit of Despair).

It is all over the Scripture, and this is important when I talk about work that pleases God. I am using the Tabernacle as an example, but I am not talking about religious activity. I am not talking about more prayers and more services and more pious activities. That is one kind of doing, and it is important—no, they are essential. But the Torah has something much bigger in mind. However, there is a problem. The Torah does not divide the sacred and secular life. The Torah may divide holy and common, but the sacred and secular distinction—that is a later invention of religion as a thing you do in this little compartment of your life.

In the Torah framework, Adam tending to the garden—that is work for God. Building the Tabernacle—that is work for God. Building a business with integrity—that is work for God. Raising children faithfully—that is work for God. It is all one category: faithful building in the world by being image-bearers of God. That is work for God.

The Tabernacle is just one of many patterns. God says explicitly what He wants: your skill, your effort, your creativity, your donations offered to Him sometimes, but often offered to the world that He created you to serve and to work in as an image-bearer of God. In Genesis 1, He creates. I propose to you, as I think about that, serving Him and serving others—in Genesis 1, He creates, He makes, He forms, He separates, He organizes, He speaks things into being. And then He makes humans and says, "Have fun" (not). Actually, He says, "Have dominion, replenish the earth, subdue it, rule it, name the animals, tend the garden." That is a job description. He did not actually say, "Do religious things." God created man in His image—b'tzelem Elohim—which means we were made to create, build, organize, develop, cultivate. And as I said, when you build a business, when you raise a family, when you create art, when you establish an organization, when you write something true, when you construct something beautiful—that is not a distraction from spiritual things; those are spiritual things (Col. 3:23–24). When you are doing spiritual things without this distinction of religion and secular, you are imaging the God who created you (Eph. 5:1). You are being what He made you to be. And when we are doing what He created us to be, God—as I have intimated to you—looks down on you and says, "I am impressed. I am really proud of you."

Have an amazing day of impressing the One who created you, who bought you, and the One who is proud of you!

Shalom,
Alan

Video teaching Builder vs Bystander Part 2: "Striving to Enter the Narrow Gate" (Luke 13:24; 1 Cor. 9:25; Col. 1:29; Neh. 3) 

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