by Marty Sloan
The Word of God tells us in Genesis, that God had an intentional purpose for our existence on earth. His purpose is revealed in His original declaration of man; dominion. Nearly everything we cry out to see different in our lives is some form of better control over our lives. Ironically, we seek that which God gave us in the first place! Secondly, dominion was to be inclusive, which included man and all the earthly resources present at that time; meaning that everything man could see including himself was to be directed and increased as a result of this God given authority. Psalms 115:14-16.
In Genesis 3:1-8, with the introduction of death because of sin we see the entrance into the world the two tracks of life. For the first time in Adam’s life he found himself hiding from God. He was hiding because he was now standing on the wrong track.
Dominion Track |
Deception Track |
|
| Intimacy with God | Insecurity with God | |
| Connected to others | Challenged by others | |
| Clarity of purpose | Confusion of purpose | |
| Control of self | Control of others | |
| Relationship with God | Religious about God |
Dominion vs. Deception really sums up the scenery of our life. When we run on the deception track the scenery will always be deceptive, very appealing but deceptive. For example; we seek happiness by doing things that kill happiness. We seek love in places that only offer guilt. We seek acceptance from those who do not care about us while we turn our back on those that do. We run from God because of shame, when we should run to God as our only source. Jesus broke it down this way in Luke 9: 23-25, He speaks of a switch in our thinking about life and our pursuits. It appears that our inherent selfishness is the stumbling block to our eternal pursuits. Our pursuit to gain life by keeping it and gaining more stuff is simply a deception to the real truth; the way we gain life is to give up our life.
You can find the original track of dominion, through Matthew 6:33, being a priority in your life. This week seek out someone to bring with you to church; someone you know is looking for things to be different in their life. Maybe you are looking for things to be different, but don’t know where to start. If you do not have a church home, come and join us at Harvest Time we would love to be a part of your family.
