Cover the Earth

Adam’s son Seth was born a true son to his father — in his father’s own likeness and image. He was his father’s kid. How many dads’ hearts swell with pride when a wife says to his kid, “You’re just like your father”? I know mine does, even if my wife is not exactly approving of what my kid just did! Perhaps as a parent, you understand this feeling. “Yeah, that’s my kid.” There is just something about posterity that is glorious. God designed and created it that way. Jesus encouraged it when he taught us that we are to be “perfect” as our heavenly Father is perfect. We were created to be like our Dad in heaven. We love our enemies. We are light. We are cities set on a hill. That’s just who we are.

The Lord made the earth and created mankind on it that his glory might radiate from his creation. How marvelous are his works, and we are the work of his hands. You are the work of his hands. Do you believe that? We were made to be reflectors of our Maker, mirrors of his majesty. A sense of wonder and marvel over his creation may at times be distant from us, hidden from our sight, but it is still there. How does the water cover the sea? Completely (it is the sea) and obediently (come this far and no farther ³). It is God’s desire that his glory cover this earth through us, his people; through you. Go and grow. He’s called you to it.

It strikes me that God commands man in his fallen nature to increase upon the earth. Why? Why would God want the surface of the earth populated with fallen people? Genesis 9:6 may help us to understand God’s perspective. In this scripture, God forbids murder because “in the image of God has God made mankind.” Even though our visage has been marred by sin, we still bear his image. We are faded glory, but glory nonetheless. Now we, as believers, are destined to be conformed into the image of Jesus, who reflects our heavenly Father perfectly. And it follows that our lives are to impact the lives of others — family, neighbors, co-workers, all of those who were created in his image and have yet to know him. May our lives rise to be a sweet fragrance of life to them.

I once dreamt that I was in a cellar where an evil presence was emanating from an object. In my dream, I grabbed the object to throw it out of the cellar. As I looked down to see what I was about to jettison, I saw that it was a mirror. I believe the Lord was trying to tell me something by giving me this dream. A constant focus on self is an evil that will deter our growth in the Lord. We don’t become reflectors of his glory by trying to fix ourselves. A large dose of self-monitoring is of no use when it comes to being transformed into his image. We become glory reflectors by looking at him, not ourselves. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.” ⁴ Our freedom comes from the Holy Spirit. Aren’t you glad he is your source of constant help?

When God saves, God gets glory. Just look at Louis Zamperini. You may have read about his life in the book, “Unbroken” or seen the movies about him. His life went from troubled child to Olympic distance runner to World War II POW to a broken, post-war mess. But that’s not where his story ends; that’s not where God left him. Making good on a promise to serve God that Louis had made to the Lord while adrift on the Pacific, he received Christ at a Billy Graham crusade. That day the Lord miraculously rescued him from intense PTSD nightmares and all-consuming alcoholism, and restored his marriage as well. God saves broken lives. He did mine. I’ve come to know him as the faithful Father of a wandering prodigal. What is your story? It doesn’t have to be dramatic to give him glory, it just needs to reflect him.