We're Made To Relate And Rule

In Chapter One of Cruciform I show from Genesis 1 and 2 that "Adam and Eve were made to relate and to create, just like the inherently communal and creative God who made them. They were created in the image of God for relationship as his beloved son and daughter and also rulership as his blessed servants" (page 14). I go on to say that we were all created to "be someone special" in God's community and to "do something special" on God's mission.

Here are a couple of quotes from others that explain more of what I mean:

"I long for a quality of relationship and a level of impact that no human being can ever provide. I was built for infinite love from Someone who needs nothing in return and for eternal impact through Someone whose purposes are supremely important. Only God can supply what my soul most deeply desires . . . Without Someone who cares and something to do that matters, life is an unspeakably cruel experience to be avoided, distorted, or denied."

Larry Crabb , Inside Out , page 89.

"In the broadest terms, what does every human being desire? The answer can be put very simply—love and honor . . . We all long for union and connection, a taste of being drawn to another and intertwined in his soul, so that we are known and fully received in spite of the deformities of sin. We also long to enter the other and the world with the kind of presence and power that sees beauty and goodness grow as a result of our existence . . . The two central passions of the heart are a desire for connection that does not consume or destroy the other . . . and a hunger for impact that leads to greater beauty and justice."

Dan Allender , Bold Love , pages 209 and 212.