The Intentions of Grace

Here is the big question: What is the purpose of it all?

There are a number of people talking about what is God’s original intention for man. Almost without fail, they link that intention to the following verse:

Genesis 1:28 KJVR
(28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

Their thinking is that the kingdom of God is all about subduing and dominion, as all of our myths about the nature of kingdoms lead us to believe, so this obviously is the foundation of our purpose here on this earth. Original intention is dominion-based. It is a comfortable doctrine that we can relate to since we see it being fulfilled in nation after nation in a variety of ways, right? Subduing one faction while giving rise to another; disposing one dictator while propping up one more acceptable; enabling one party while disabling the present one. This has been the model for eons and our religious structures have been there all along tending to both sides of the matter at the same time. It begs one to ask the question, what is the purpose of it all?

What if the religious structures we have relied upon to soothe our souls in the midst of competing desires has been looking at the original intention from the wrong perspective all along? Would that mean that our paradigm for kingdoms would be wrong also? Allow me to offer to you a picture of the original intention that maybe you haven’t considered to be valid. It comes from these verses:

Ephesians 1:4-6 KJVR
(4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
(5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
(6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Now I’m not too shy to say that the phrase “before the foundations of the world” seems like a long time ago, even before the events recorded in Genesis. So it would appear to me that the original intention of mankind has nothing to do with dominion but everything to do with establishing relationship. As a matter of fact, it would appear that this relationship business appears to be a issue that gives the Father a whole lot of pleasure. It even appears that the Father has pretty much determined that no matter how messed up we can make it in our life or the life of others, He has already fixed it so that none of us will ever be able to be left out of this relationship.

What does this kind of thinking do to our paradigm of kingdoms? Paul seemed to understand the significance of this in these verses:

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 KJVR
(18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
(19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
(20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

Ambassadors are people who represent kingdoms. In the old mind-set they are agents of dominion terrorizing nations through forcing the will of the countries they represent upon other less favored nations. This leads to wars and rumors of wars to spread across the globe. These representatives have no desire to maintain relationships except for how it would align with the interests of the kingdom they hold allegiance to. Remember, when one party recedes and another rises, ambassadors simply change their mind, or repent, to meet the new vision to an old paradigm.

Ambassadors of reconciliation are not concerned with subjugation. Their entire focus is on making one whole in their relationship with the Father as well as with others. They follow the model of Jesus as a mediator to bring healing to fractured lives while drawing upon the grace of the Father to impart a new vision of unity in the union of an eternal family. These agents of the kingdom of God embrace the mantle of servanthood through grace and love. They don’t practice the golden rule simply because, despite what they believe will or won’t work, whatever actions it takes, even loving their enemies, must be followed to secure wholeness and harmony.

So if the question above arises within you, as I know it will time after time, realize that you are being tested to either accept dominion by subjection or authority through wholeness. Grace operates in both however the path of least resistance often requires the greater attention to maintain the status quo.