Invitation as participation in the Divine's nature
O sinners, let's go down
Let's go down, come on down
O sinners, let's go down
Down in the river to pray - Down to the River to Pray
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. Genesis 1:26
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Genesis 3:22
This is going to be, mercifully, a rather short post but I couldn't help thinking about community this morning (maybe because I am reading books about relationships and the Trinity) and, specifically, about invitation. I find that when I invite someone to come along side me and do this or that, well, I am acting just like God. Obviously, the members of the Trinity moved in swift and complete concert with one another as they created man and limited his life in his fallen state. It is not insignificant that, in the first chapters of the Bible, that they would invite each other into these activities. I have written about this before.
But, what of the invitations that I extend to my wife, sons, friends, and extended family? They are not insignificant and are permeated with meaning. I act as Father, Son, and Spirit did when I plan and offer the opportunity to work side by side. I am truly a relational being and, even though it is hard, I must participate in the nature of the Divine and invite. Anything less and I will find myself less than what he wants me to be: an ever-increasingly accurate reflection of his Son.
Let's go down, come on down
O sinners, let's go down
Down in the river to pray - Down to the River to Pray
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. Genesis 1:26
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Genesis 3:22
This is going to be, mercifully, a rather short post but I couldn't help thinking about community this morning (maybe because I am reading books about relationships and the Trinity) and, specifically, about invitation. I find that when I invite someone to come along side me and do this or that, well, I am acting just like God. Obviously, the members of the Trinity moved in swift and complete concert with one another as they created man and limited his life in his fallen state. It is not insignificant that, in the first chapters of the Bible, that they would invite each other into these activities. I have written about this before.
But, what of the invitations that I extend to my wife, sons, friends, and extended family? They are not insignificant and are permeated with meaning. I act as Father, Son, and Spirit did when I plan and offer the opportunity to work side by side. I am truly a relational being and, even though it is hard, I must participate in the nature of the Divine and invite. Anything less and I will find myself less than what he wants me to be: an ever-increasingly accurate reflection of his Son.
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