When God created us He gave us a mandate:  ²⁸God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  As I pointed out in Sunday's message, we haven't done so well with any of the three aspects of the mandate:  be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over it.  

Yes, the world has billions of people, who all came from the original two, but the "fruitfulness and increase" isn't universal on the planet.  The industrialized nations have decided that our own comfort is more important than children, so we aren't even reproducing ourselves.  (The increase in population in those nations is due to immigration, and recent immigrants.)  We've also made it legal to kill children before they're born, so God's mandate isn't being fulfilled according to His plan.

As for "subduing" the earth, we've done that.  We can live virtually anywhere on the planet, and produce enough food for everyone, with the technologies we've developed.  Yet, millions go hungry, and the planet is showing the stress of being "subdued," without concern for the stewardship of the resources God placed here.  Subdue does not mean destroy as God intended it.  Those of you who know me know that I'm not an ultra "green" person, but God's mandate to subdue the earth certainly means using it in a way that it will be available to future generations.

As for ruling the earth and the lower creatures, once again, we've done less than God intended.  In fact, as I pointed out in Sunday's message, we've done such a poor job that once God destroyed everything except eight people and a boat full of animals and started over.

What's the message for us in all this?  God has a plan.  It includes us.  He's in charge, and when we follow His mandates for our lives, they'll be blessed by Him---and that is the only blessing that matters.

Take a moment right now and consider what it looks like in your life to follow God's mandates and enjoy His blessings.  Then, ask Him to empower You to live that way today!

 Heavenly Father, Thank You for creating the universe, and particularly the earth and giving us the mandate to care for it.  Fill us with the Holy Spirit that our decisions will align with that mandate.  This we ask in Jesus' name.  Amen.