God did not create human beings to sit around.
He wanted them to take leadership and do something.
Here’s what God said: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Gen. 1:28).
In other words, don’t leave things the way you see them. Take leadership to do significant things that bless yourselves and others and glorify God.
But we know the sad story. Adam didn’t exercise leadership. He let the devil walk all over him. We’ve been doing it ever since.
God didn’t leave the world there, though. He sent Jesus to redeem it.
It’s important to see that when we talk about “redemption” and “getting saved,” we are not just talking about forgiveness and going to heaven. Salvation means a restoration to what God originally intended for humanity.
So, salvation restores us to dominion and leadership. “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Eph. 2:10).
Jesus is called Christ because He is anointed to be a prophet, priest, and king. Christians have understood that they are called Christians because they share in this anointing. We are restored to kingship and leadership in Christ.
One ancient statement of faith, The Heidelberg Catechism, captures this well:
But why are you called a Christian? Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in his anointing. I am anointed to confess his name, to present myself to him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for eternity.
God restores us to leadership, but He does more than restore. He wants us to partner with Him in what He is doing in bringing redemption and restoration to the world.
So, what does that mean for us practically? We need to change the way we view things. God is calling all people not only to receive His love but to be His partners and take leadership by His power in doing significant things that bless ourselves and others and bring glory to Him.
That’s how we should think of ourselves as believers in Christ.