Invitation to Awaken Your Humanity

I am convinced that we must reflect on God’s original plans for humanity in order to understand the work that God accomplishes through Jesus the Messiah on behalf of us all. At minimum, salvation is God’s actions to restore humanity to His original designs for women and men. This essay will reflect on several biblical texts beginning with Genesis 1:26-31:

NIV Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

This text is profound. It focuses on the purpose of humanity. This passage affirms that every single human being has been created in the image of God (Latin: imago dei). Yet, most attempts at explaining it make the mistake of trying to interpret ontologically the meaning of the image of God – in other words, most try to explain the essence of humanity. This text however is more interested in the function and purpose of humanity. Below I will explore briefly two movements in this text and end with some theological reflection in light of the coming of Jesus Christ.

1) Humanity as the Pinnacle of God’s Creative Work
Creation reaches its climax in God’s crafting of women and men in His image. There are a number of clues that point to this. First, more verses are devoted to the making of people than to any other part of Creation in 1:1–2:3. Second, “let us” language suggest the care and deliberation of God in the forging of humanity in God’s image. Why the use of the plural plural? The most likely explanation is that “let us” is either a plural of majesty (God is so awesome that He speaks as a “We”) or it is God addressing the heavenly court. Regardless, this language clearly raises the importance of this section. Third, God appoints humanity as stewards. No other creature or created thing exercises authority over humanity. Instead, humanity is to reign over creation as God’s stewards or regents. Last, in 1:31 God offers a final evaluation of his creative activity. Days 1 to 5 were reckoned “good.” Now with the creation of humanity, God elevates his self-evaluation to “very good.”

All of these data suggest that the creation of humanity is the climactic event of God’s creative activity. All that remains for God to do at the conclusion of Day Six is rest (2:1-3).

2) Humanity as the Visible Representatives of the Creator God

A missional focus is implicit in humanity’s creation in the image of God.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word tselem is translated as image. It refers to that which is visible. In other words, imago dei points to humanity as representatives of God in Creation. Throughout the Scriptures, creating visible representations of God is prohibited. In such places, tselem translates as "idol." Yet, in Genesis 1, God created people to serve as a visible image of the divine. We are God’s representative agents. We may read this as a missional mandate: God created people to be reflections of the Creator God. 

Humanity stands before the rest of Creation as a witness to the God who fashioned the heavens and the earth. Thus, from the beginning of Creation, humans were born for a purpose. This mission was to represent the character of God before the rest of Creation.

As a result of being forged in the image of God, humans fulfill a key role for God. God created humanity to rule over creation. In our day, we have twisted this vocation into an excuse for abusing the earth and devaluing our fellow creatures. Genesis does indeed grant a high place to humanity, but this has to be understood in light of a representational authority. Humanity does rule for its own sake or prerogatives. Humanity exercises dominion over creation on behalf of God. The actions of people are to mirror those of God. 

Humanity’s mission is to reflect God’s character and prerogatives in its exercise of authority. We don’t act for ourselves, but for God and for others. We love others including enemies and the created world as an outflow of our love for God. An authority rooted in love is the only dominion that Genesis envisions. In its wider context, Genesis 2:15 confirms this reality, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (italics added). We may even call this dominion through servanthood.

The Apostle Paul will make a similar connection between creation and mission in his Second Letter to the Corinthians. In the same context in which Paul describes those in Christ as part of a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17), he uses the language of diplomacy in stating that as part of the new creation, “so we are God’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Cor 5:20).


There are two elements present in this missional function: holiness and community. Genesis 1 assumes that humanity will achieve its mission of representing God through two means. Humanity represents God to the World by reflecting God’s character. This is the essence of holiness. Related to this is the reality that God did not create a solitary human creature, but differentiated humanity into its two sexes – male and female. Humanity thus was created to live in genuine community with one another.


We may summarize humanity’s role as God’s visible representatives to Creation with three words:

Mission (Connect) – humanity serves as the mediator/ambassador between God and Creation  

Holiness (Reflect)  – humanity embodies and reflects God’s character  

Community (Relate) – humanity lives in authentic and intimate community as part of its reflection of God’s character in fulfillment of God’s mission


Every single person who has ever lived was created for this purpose. Thus all people have intrinsic value and worth. 

Everyone has amazing potential. The problem is that we tend to turn away from God and seek our own way.

3) Jesus as the Fullest Reflection of Our True Humanity
Jesus came to deliver humanity from the darkness of sin. Post–Genesis 3, the persistence and pervasiveness of human sinfulness alienates us from God and ruptures creation itself. 
 In response to sin, Jesus came to live the only truly human life. He perfectly enacted and fulfilled the mission of God. Jesus, the Word, took on our flesh and made known to humanity the truth and reality of God:


NIV John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has made it possible for humanity to live out God’s original purposes. By reconciling us to God and filling us with the Holy Spirit, Jesus awakens humanity to God’s creational purposes and unleashed his people to live the life that God created them to live.

Conclusion:
God created us to serve a profound role. Humanity is the jewel of God’s creation. God has created each person to serve in God’s mission. As such, humanity lives to connect the reality of God to Creation by reflecting God’s character corporately in community and individually as persons created in God’s image.

We must not read these functions as static or attempt to straight jacket every human being into some clone or ideal. If God is endlessly creative, why should we attempt to “standardize” humanity? Are not we in the Church often guilty of producing “followers of Jesus” who are too often closer to being protégés or a Mini-Me than true reflections of Jesus? If God created every human being with a distinct set of fingerprints, why would we ever want to limit the creativity and skill set of followers of Jesus? It is time for the Church to call people to discover their true humanity in Jesus Christ. It is time for us to Awaken humanity.

What if following Jesus Christ truly was the means of awakening all of your potential to live as the person you were created to be?

© 2006 Brian D. Russell (Revised 12/2016)

For more on reading Scripture missionally, check out my latest book (re)Aligning with God: Reading Scripture for Church and World:

Missional Insights from Israel's Story (Genesis–Nehemiah): Learning to Live as God’s Missional People

            

Many readers of the Bible struggle integrating the Old Testament into their understanding of the Christian life and mission. Yet Israel’s Scriptures are ripe with insight for understanding God’s mission and role of God’s people in it. In this essay, I will sketch out key takeaways from Israel’s story to help guide us as we follow Jesus today.            

(1) Genesis 1–11 set the stage for God’s mission by describing the universe as God intended for it to be and by acknowledging the profound lostness of people and brokenness of Creation due to human rebellion.

Israel’s creation accounts (Genesis 1–2) describe God carefully and deliberately crafting a very good creation. Humanity stands at the pinnacle of God’s creative activity and at the center of God’s missional plans. In God’s original plan, humanity was to fill the earth and serve as the invisible creator God’s visible representatives. Men and women were to live as a community that embodied God’s character and served God’s mission of caring for God’s world.

In Genesis 3–11 human sin ruptures creation. Humanity is lost and creation itself is broken. Paul aptly summarizes Genesis 3–11 in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory….” The iconic narratives of the Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah’s Flood, and the Tower of Babel serve as warnings against humanity’s hubris and injustice by demonstrating the costliness of sin.

Genesis 1–11 is crucial for understanding the rest of the Bible. It sets Israel’s story in the context of all nations and as part of God’s answer to the brokenness of the world.

(2) God’s answer to the chaos and tragedy of Genesis 3–11 is to call a new humanity to serve as his missional people to reflect his character to the world.

God calls Abraham and his descendants to be agents of blessing to all people (Genesis 12:3b). After the deliverance from Egypt, this calling becomes embedded into God's vision for his liberated people (Exod 19:4–6): they will serve as a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation." God’s actions in saving God’s people are for the purpose of extending blessing to all nations. This gives us a critical perspective for understanding Israel’s story. God is for Israel for the sake of all people rather than against all people for the sake of Israel. God continues to call God’s people to serve as embodiments of grace to the world.

(3) God is faithful to his promises and powerful to save.

This theme reverberates from God’s interactions with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Exodus from Egypt, settlement in Canaan, protection from enemies, and the return from Exile.  Israel’s story is one of audacious hope. The future is ultimately secure because the Creator God has a mission to bless the nations and restore creation. This future does not depend on human ingenuity or power, but on God alone. This is good news.

(4) God’s faithfulness and grace is the final word.

God’s people repeatedly act unfaithfully in the Old Testament but this does not negate God’s ability to advance his kingdom in advance of the arrival of Jesus the Messiah. Exile to Babylon was well deserved, but it was a longtime coming as God’s mercy and patience prolonged its arrival. Even when exile came in 587 BC, it lasted only 50 years before God led God’s people a second time to the promised land. Israel’s story testifies to a hope and restoration on the other side of sin and judgment.

(5) Faithful obedience is the proper response to God’s grace and faithfulness to God’s people.

How do God’s people respond to grace? Israel’s story teaches us that it is with faithful living that reflects the character and mission of God. Israel’s obedience is not the precondition of relationship with God, but the result of the experience of salvation. Faithful living is the means by which God’s people witness to the nations the goodness and greatness of God.

(6) Israel’s story demonstrates the potential and snares of living as God’s people among the nations.

The key takeaway is the necessity of faithfulness as God’s people embody a missional holiness for the nations. When we read Scripture’s portrayal of Israel, we are often struck by the repeated failures of Israel to practice faithfulness. This stands in contrast to the mission that God has called Israel to embody for the sake of the world. Israel’s potential and failings serve as a witness to God’s people today.

(7) Idolatry and injustice are the principal impediments to faithfulness. 
God’s missional people must be vigilant against all practices that negate their witness by obstructing their love for God (idolatry) and love for neighbor including a love for creation (injustice). Israel’s story focuses on the ongoing danger of idolatry and injustice for God’s people. As we seek to live faithfully as God’s witnesses in the world, the temptation to elevate “gods” over the one true Creator and Savior remains as does the human tendency to practice injustice to elevate our own sense of power, influence or importance.

© 2016 Brian D. Russell, Revised May 2018.

For more exploration of missional readings of the Bible, see my books (re)Aligning with God: Reading Scripture for Church and World (Cascade, 2016) and Invitation: A Ten Week Bible Study (Invitation, 2015). 

Introducing my latest publication: Invitation

I recently wrote Invitation. It is a ten-week Bible study published by Seedbed.  Here are answers to some questions that I've received about the book and the wider project/series to which it belongs.

What is Invitation?

Invitation is part of Seedbed’s OneBook vision for Bible study. Invitation serves this wider vision by introducing the broad contours of the Biblical message. I follow this basic outline of understanding the Biblical story: Creation – Fall – Israel – Jesus  – Church – New Creation. Through ten chapters divided into five daily readings, I cover the core content of the Bible with an emphasis on God’s mission and the role of God’s people in it by living as a holy missional community for the sake of the world. The goal of the Invitation is not merely information; the goal is the transformation of each reader as he or she encounters the good news of Scripture and aligns or realigns with its message.

Invitation is a book or ebook (click here for sample), but a DVD is also available that includes ten 30 minute segments of my teaching that expands on the book content. If you are interested in a sample video, you can watch Session 1 here. Invitation is perfect for use in small or large group study sessions and includes a study guide to enhance the readers discussion of the Bible.

What were your goals for writing Invitation?

I wrote Invitation to promote a re-engagement with Scripture and its transforming good news. The inspiration for Invitation comes from two sources. First, I love the Bible. It has shaped my life and its message continues to astonish me anew every day. I’ve spent the last thirty years of my life listening to the Scriptures and aligning my life with it. Second, I’ve witnessed in my teaching and preaching the impact and power of Scripture in the lives of the women and men whom I’ve taught.  I’ve watched the lights come on for countless numbers of people when they realized the richness of Scripture and its power to transform their lives.

For whom is Invitation written?

I wrote Invitation for people interested in the Bible but with little or no background in its study. I have not watered down any part of the Scripture, but I’ve done my best to package it in language that is accessible and understandable to anyone whether they are already Christ followers or simply seeking to learn about the Bible. I try to model using language that connects the Bible with the world.

What about longtime Christians? Will Invitation be helpful for them?

Absolutely! I’ve taught the material in various contexts over the past few years. I’ve offered it in Wesley Foundations to young college students as well as for local congregations and at Bible Camps for seasoned believers. The material has proven meaningful and impactful wherever I’ve offered it. The Bible is like the ocean. You can put your toes in it or go as deep as the Mariana trench in the Pacific. Invitation will take you deeper regardless of your present level. Plus for seasoned Christians, they will learn to translate the message of the Scripture into language that will resonate with 21^st century people. I can imagine not-yet believers coming to faith through studying the Bible with Invitation.

Can Invitation be used for individual study or is it only a group resource?

The Invitation study (Book and DVD) was developed for use in groups, but group study is not required. But let me say this: One of the key themes of Scripture is community. So I do suggest reading it with at least one other person, but this is not a necessity.

You can order your copies of Invitation directly from Seedbed. Discounts are available if ordering multiple copies.

Let me know if you have questions.

The Courage to Read: Reflections on Psalm 1 (Part One)

The book of Psalms ends in 150:6 with the memorable exhortation: “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.” This is an invitation to join the whole chorus of creation in the ongoing, vibrant praise and worship of God. Praise in the climax of the book of Psalm.

The book of Psalms serves as the prayer book for God’s missional people as we seek to live out love for God and neighbor in the service of God’s mission to bless the nations and heal creation. The Psalter ends with majestic praise and worship. As we read through the book of Psalms as a whole, we encounter not only praise, but poignant prayers of desperation as God’s people struggle with the dangers and pitfalls of life: enemies, injustice, illness, fear, and the others challenges of life that threaten to suffocate and snuff out the life of faith. We also find also find prayers of thanksgiving, prayers of trust, and hopeful declarations. The Psalter has nurtured and fed the souls of God’s people for millennia through its rich and relevant prayers and praises to God.

In the midst of these many treasures, it is easy to speed through the opening Psalm. It is only six verses. But I want to suggest that we need to hear its message as a guide to making sense of the rest of the Psalms. Psalm one is not a prayer nor is it an audacious praise. But it is foundational to all the rest of the psalms. It suggests that before authentic praise, before passionate and expectant prayer, there is a deep need to ponder.

Let’s listen to the Psalm in its entirety and then begin to unpack its power:

Psalm 1:1 Blessed are those who do not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but who delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on his law day and night. 3 They are like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-- whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will be destroyed. (TNIV)

Reflections:

1) This psalm proclaims an authoritative guide to happiness. How can I make it through life happy? Some English translation have the word “blessed.” The word is better translated “Happy” here in 1:1 because Psalm 1 is talking about happy in the sense of being in a state of blessing from God. “Blessed” focuses on God as blesser. All of this begs the question: How do we live this way?

2) Recognize that the life of faith touches every moment and interaction. Look at the verbs in verse 1: walk, stand, sit. These are our options while we are awake. Psalm 1 has all of live in view.  We must be mindful of how we live. We are God’s witnesses to the world. We do not live apart from the world as God’s missional people. This is not an option. Instead, we live in the world. The Psalmist is not naïve to think that we can avoid the world. The psalmist has a more audacious vision. The key is to be shaped by God so that we are influencers of the world rather than persons who are influenced by the world. This is the warning of verse 1.

3) Verse 2 offers the positive virtue and practice that serves as the guide and road map to the good and happy life. Its word is simple but not simplistic. It does not offer a short series of steps to happiness or a one time seminar to receive a certification in the state of being blessed. Instead, it advocates an attitude and a habit. 

4) Delight and meditate. Look at verse 2: delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on it moment by moment. These are the core practices that serves as the foundation for the book of Psalm’s vision for life.

Notice that this is no mere rote or legalistic force feeding of Scripture. It is a coming to Scripture with an attitude of delight that opens us up to the feast that is there. How do we learn to delight in the Word? Pray Astonish me a anew with the riches of your word. Pray not that you become a master of Scripture but that the Scripture masters you.

Then ponder it deeply and continually. In the original Hebrew, meditate also has the connotation of speaking the text aloud. Breathe it in. Breathe it out. It is your roadmap for the journey of your life.

Psalm 1:2 echoes God’s word to Joshua in 1:7-8: Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night…

In other words, Psalm 1 as a presupposition and foundation to the journey of faith calls us to a courageous willingness to read and ponder.

Personal/Communal Realignment

What about us?

Do we have the courage to read Scripture, breathe it in moment by moment, and breathe it out through a life of faithfulness, justice, and love as witnesses to God’s kingdom? The courage to pick up the Scriptures and read is a key step in the journey and life of faith that ends in the perpetual praise of the God who saves us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus our LORD.

Prayer

Gracious God,

Embolden us today with the courage to read and receive. To breathe in your guidance and breathe it out in faithful practice and praise. Continue to astonish us anew with riches of your Word so that we may be shaped and formed into the people that you desire us to be. Unleash us to live by faith, be known by love, and serve as voices of hope for all creation. In Jesus’ name: Amen

© 2014 Brian D. Russell

The Gift of the Sabbath

After God forms humanity and pronounces creation “very good” God rests. How many of us rest? Modern life is filled with complex and multiple demands. Yet the Bible begins by asserting that Sabbath rest is the climax of the Creation. Life is not designed to be endless toil. Even the most life affirming activities must cease for Sabbath. God’s work of creation moved the universe from emptiness (1:2) to very goodness (1:31) to Sabbath rest (2:1-3). Sabbath is God’s final gift to the creation.

Sabbath and God
God works. God rests. This establishes a key rhythm for understanding life. Ponder this: our Creator rests. This is a radically different world from the one we find today. Most of us race daily from one activity to another. We are tired. Some of us work longer hours often for less pay than previously. Others are exhausted due to weight of un/underemployment and the financial challenges that come with it.

Yet Genesis 2:1–3 offers us a portrait of abundance. God rests. Moreover God blesses this day of rest and makes it holy (2:3). This means that God has set apart a sacred space and time for rest. Profoundly, God shares this rest with us by extending Sabbath to all creation. Sabbath serves as a principle for establishing justice and good in the world. Unlike other ancient creation stories such as the Babylonian Atrahasis where humans exist merely to serve as slaves for the gods, the LORD demonstrates his ultimate goodness with the gift of Sabbath. Jesus will remind us of this reality in the New Testament: “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath” (Mark 1:27)

Sabbath and Life
Sabbath is an integrating principle for our spiritual, personal, and social lives. It connects us with the world around us. Later in the Old Testament, God’s Sabbath will be the key commandment for linking love for God with love for neighbor. In the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:1–17 and Deut 5:6-21), the command to honor and keep Sabbath is the longest and most detailed of the commands. It serves as the bridge between the commandments focusing on our relationship with God (no other gods, no idols, no dishonoring of God’s name) and the commandments rooted in our relating with others (honoring parents, no stealing, no murder, no adultery, no false witness, no coveting). Sabbath has all creation in view. Humanity stops its work and rests. This rest includes all of one’s family, all of one’s employees or servants, and even all of one’s animals. Sabbath is a community practice. There is no solitary sabbath in the Scripture. God rests and so does his creation.

Sabbath in the Old Testament
In the rest of the Old Testament, the sabbath pattern of six days of work and a seventh day of rest repeats and foreshadows God’s abundant future. In Exodus and Leviticus, the sabbath principle establishes protections for humanity and creation. Slavery is regulated so that slaves are released after six years of service (Exod 21:1-11). Agricultural lands receive a sabbath rest every seventh year (Exod 23:10-11). These regulations point to God’s broader vision for justice in his world. Obviously, slaves were among the most marginalized populations in the ancient world. Most slaves in the ancient Israel became slaves as a means of paying off debts in an economy lacking modern bankruptcy protection. It is profound that the Bible confronted this tragic reality directly by offering real protections for persons forced into slavery. Likewise resting fields involved more than crop rotation. The sabbath rest for the fields served to provide food for the poor and for the animal world. The book of Leviticus includes a bold vision for a once-in-a-generation economic reboot (Lev 25). After seven cycles of seven years, God expected God’s people to celebrate the year of Jubilee. In Jubilee, creditors forgave all debts, sold property returned to its original owners, and slave holders released slaves. Jubilee demonstrated God’s justice and goodness. Thus, Sabbath points to the good life. We may find ourselves is difficult circumstances and trying times, but God’s rest awaits.

Living the Sabbath Today
 Sabbath is a radical concept. We live in a 24/7 world. Sabbath challenges the busy-ness of life. What if the most profound act you could do is to be fully present and do nothing? Rest is not a means to some end; rest is the end. God moves creation from emptiness to very goodness and then rests. God doesn’t rest so that he can work. God works so that he can rest. Rest is the final word. This signals something profound about life. The meaning of life cannot simply be reduced to what we do. Work is valuable. Mission is important. Community is critical. Holiness is necessary. Yet the climax of creation is a time carved out for rest in communion with God. Think about the witness that such a bold and daring time of inaction would offer to a world trapped in endless cycles of busy-ness and the chaos of over-commitment.  Sabbath is a declaration of faith that our present and future does not depend on our actions but on God’s. As we read the Bible together, we will continue to talk about our role in God’s mission. But the challenge of Sabbath is that God rested and so must we. The Jesus who calls us to serve as a missional community also invites us to Sabbath: “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28)

What does it mean that God desires you to rest? How would you need to change in order to embrace a real sabbath as a way of life?

Reading with a Missional Hermeneutic (Psalm 2): Part Two

Interested in missional hermeneutics. Here is how I talk about Psalm 2 from the perspective of a missional reading. Thank you to Seedbed for filming and producing this video:

Reading with a Missional Hermeneutic (Psalm 2): Part Two