Implications: Community
For the next little while we will explore some of the implications of creation and some of our responsibilities.Today we consider the thought that we are created in the image of the Triune God and that the implication is Community.
One of the fundamental theological principles of the faith is our belief in the Trinity - that the Godhead is a perfectly loving community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we are created in God's image, then we reflect God's nature, even though our reflections are tainted by the blight of sin. We reflect His creativity, the ability to appreciate beauty, and especially His capacity to share love with each other.
The bottom-line is this: If God in the Trinity is a perfectly loving community then we who are created in His image are created to move toward loving community. We are not created to be individual lone-ranger Christians but to express our faith in and through community.
Some would argue that our sinfulness as a result of the fall has made community impossible - they would argue that immediately after eating the fruit, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent (who didn't have leg to stand on! :-) ) God also warns Adam and Eve that the relationship between men and women will be blighted by the abuse of power: "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (Gen3:16)
But this blight is not our created purpose and God calls us to a higher standard. In Gen4:9 we read:
Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
Cain's answer implies that he does not feel the need for community, whereas God's question implies that close and caring community is a given. This implication is echoed throughout Scripture.
Community is a creation-imbedded reality of our existence. The stain of sin results in us rejecting or deforming the idea of loving community, but this does not allow us to avoid the issue.
We are created for God-honouring loving community and we should pursue it.
| So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis1:27) |
