Identity + Purpose
How often have you heard or read these two words shared with the Church: identity and purpose? A lot, right? Because we humans were created to know our identity and purpose. Without a strong sense of both, we drift and wither. Talk to any kids or youth pastor, and they will tell you: identity and purpose are crucial, and our next generations fail to thrive without a strong sense of who they are and why they’re here. So, where do we find this indispensable identity and purpose? We go back to the beginning, to Genesis, which literally means “beginning.”
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “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.”
What can we determine about identity in this passage? We were created in God’s image, so the first order of our identity is that we are created image bearers. There’s a lot packed into that statement alone, but for now, let’s agree that the eternal, loving Creator marked we humans in a way that sets us apart from all other created beings. Humans are special in that they reflect their Divine Creator’s nature in a fashion God designed.
Next, we are created to bear that image as “male and female.” God’s created order, His divine design, is expressed in a humanity that is sexually dimorphic. That’s a fancy way to say God created two genders that map to two created sexes, which together display His likeness.
This divine likeness has a purpose, that we might nurture human creation, through reproducing families and exercising wise stewardship, or “rule” over Creation. Now, “rule” has some baggage. It carries the weight of domination and exploitation, things God never intended.
That’s why I prefer the Message translation in cases like this:
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
So, men and women are together ”…responsible for…” God’s good Creation.
Genesis establishes our human identity as male and female; We are image bearers designed to reproduce ourselves and reflect God’s nature into His World. We are also stewards, working together to care for His Creation, including one another.
That’s God’s well-ordered Creation, meant to display His loving goodness. It’s also a Creation under relentless pressure to unravel.
FROM CHAOS TO ORDER AND BACK TO CHAOS
Again, let’s consider the beginning, in Genesis 1:2, we read: Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Immediately, we notice two things. First, there is a primordial soupy chaos. And second, God’s Spirit is hovering above that mess. In verse three, God speaks and divinely inspires (spoken breath and word) order out of chaos. In our current culture, we see tension between God’s good order and a move away from that. Those with eyes to see observe a demonically inspired reversal of that order, back into chaos and confusion.
We notice it in a big way among our students and youth. Gender confusion, issues of sexual identity and ethics, anxiety, depression, and in some cases, rage: these are manifesting at unprecedented rates among the next generations in general. We are not immune, and these problems are not just the result of cultural pressures. There is demonic power at work, as the evil ones try to destroy young image bearers in the cradle, as it were.
That may sound intense, and it is, but this is how Jesus describes the unclean spirit at work in the World: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) However, this same Lord Jesus has different plans for humanity, plans filled with hope, healing, freedom, and flourishing.
It’s crucial to note here that people who struggle to follow Jesus into the good order of His Creation are not the problem. The Scriptures could not be clearer: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) We must treat them wisely with the respect and dignity every image bearer deserves. We must carefully steward their well-being with grace and truth offered with love, patience, and kindness. That is our sacred obligation. That is holy work.
RE-ORDERED CREATION
If we move from the very beginning of God’s story to its end, we find hope for our labors in Revelation 21:5: He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Jesus’ stated purpose is to make all things new, to re-constitute the Heavens and the Earth in a consummating act of re-creation. In the Gospels, we see that impulse already at work as it breaks out in “signs and wonders.” These attend Jesus and His followers not simply to “confirm the Word,” though they do so, or to benefit the afflicted. They serve a larger purpose. Like John the Baptist, they herald who Jesus is and the re-creation that commences with His arrival.
We who follow Jesus into His Kingdom work can participate in these re-creative acts. And the team that gathers on Tuesday nights can contribute to our beloved next generation’s welfare in meaningful ways because we “have divine power to demolish strongholds.” (2 Cor 10:4) God invests divine power in prayer: power enough to confront the Evil One in the spiritual realm on behalf of our kids. We do not mouth mere words that bounce off the ceiling. When you pray in faith, heaven and earth move. So, let’s pray and move some mountains.
— Pastor Steve