In my other blog, I posted some thoughts on living life with the Dominion Mandate as the "big picture." One of the implications I raised was how that might affect the decisions we make on both family relations and on the raising of children.
Genesis 1:26-29 outlines the Dominion Mandate, occurring before the Fall and not rescinded to this day.
Note first that the Mandate is given to "them"...both the man and the woman, together. Next note that the first part of the Mandate is to be fruitful and multiply...build a family. It can be inferred that taking dominion, and thus building the Kingdom, is something families ought to be working toward together.
If the Dominion Mandate truly applies to families, then it provides a basis for the direction of the family unit. As such, children need to know from an early age that they are part of a family on a mission...a mission to impact their portion of the world as a family. They need to be raised with an outward focus of Christ-exalting, world-changing vision rather than the pagan focus of self.
In effect, the Dominion Mandate provides a framework for a family vision for each and every Christian family. We are not here by accident; we as members of a particular family are sovereignly put here. And God has given us a direction...a direction that is significantly different from that of the pagan world: be fruitful, multiply, fill the world, take dominion. I believe it could be argued that taking dominion includes bringing the Word of God to bear on everything that we as Christians do, from our personal lives, to our family lives, to our work, to our worship, to our recreation, to our relationships... everything! In doing so, we will be advancing the Kingdom by showing a real witness of Christ's changing power in our lives.
This also relates a bit to the two posts on individualism (here and here). If the conclusion in the earlier paragraph is true, that the Dominion Mandate applies to families, then we need to take that to heart AS families and quit acting like the world by playing the rugged individualists who just happen to share a name and a roof. You don't take dominion by sending out individuals from a family, you take dominion by sending into the world families who honor Christ in all they do. The recurring theme is that Christian witness must be more than words; it must be lives that are lived out under the auspices of the Bible in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is that distinctiveness that will witness Christ to the world...and there will be two responses: persecution, or they will listen. And as more listen, the Kingdom is spread...and dominion occurs.
Praying for dominion-minded families....
Genesis 1:26-29 outlines the Dominion Mandate, occurring before the Fall and not rescinded to this day.
Note first that the Mandate is given to "them"...both the man and the woman, together. Next note that the first part of the Mandate is to be fruitful and multiply...build a family. It can be inferred that taking dominion, and thus building the Kingdom, is something families ought to be working toward together.
If the Dominion Mandate truly applies to families, then it provides a basis for the direction of the family unit. As such, children need to know from an early age that they are part of a family on a mission...a mission to impact their portion of the world as a family. They need to be raised with an outward focus of Christ-exalting, world-changing vision rather than the pagan focus of self.
In effect, the Dominion Mandate provides a framework for a family vision for each and every Christian family. We are not here by accident; we as members of a particular family are sovereignly put here. And God has given us a direction...a direction that is significantly different from that of the pagan world: be fruitful, multiply, fill the world, take dominion. I believe it could be argued that taking dominion includes bringing the Word of God to bear on everything that we as Christians do, from our personal lives, to our family lives, to our work, to our worship, to our recreation, to our relationships... everything! In doing so, we will be advancing the Kingdom by showing a real witness of Christ's changing power in our lives.
This also relates a bit to the two posts on individualism (here and here). If the conclusion in the earlier paragraph is true, that the Dominion Mandate applies to families, then we need to take that to heart AS families and quit acting like the world by playing the rugged individualists who just happen to share a name and a roof. You don't take dominion by sending out individuals from a family, you take dominion by sending into the world families who honor Christ in all they do. The recurring theme is that Christian witness must be more than words; it must be lives that are lived out under the auspices of the Bible in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is that distinctiveness that will witness Christ to the world...and there will be two responses: persecution, or they will listen. And as more listen, the Kingdom is spread...and dominion occurs.
Praying for dominion-minded families....
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