Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peace be to all! I am Rev. Dr. Caleb Su. I am very glad to meet you in the air. Starting from today, we are going to have a series of discussions on the topic ‘New Hearts, Fresh Beginnings’.

Every life has a beginning. A good beginning is half the battle won. Therefore, when we are at the starting point, let us first discuss a very important topic, that is the relationship between God and man.

Relationships are very important. Humans are made for relationships. The moment we are born, we have relationships – I establish the father-and-son relationship with a man and I have the mother-and-child relationship with a woman. If you have a brother or sister, you establish a relationship with your brother or sister. When you enter school, you have relationships with your classmates and friends. When you grow up and start to fall in love, you have a relationship with your lover. When you are at work in the office, you have a working relationship with your colleagues. Apart from this, we have relationship with money, the world and the cultural customs. In the spiritual world, we talk about our relationship with God and the spirits. Today, firstly, I want to talk with everyone about the most important topic, that is the relationship between God and man.

People need to discover themselves through relationships. Let us imagine, if you were the only one exist in this world and there are no plants, no other people and no other animals. My question is, “Would you be able to know who you are?” The answer is definite. You definitely do not know who you truly are. When I see a monkey and ask, “What is your name?” “My name is Monkey.” Then, I know that I am not a monkey because I am different from the monkey. When I see a human, I ask him, “Who are you?” “I am a human.” From this, I know that I am a human. In other words, the humans discover about themselves, other people, other things and even about God through relationships.

Since relationships are so important, we must not let them be ruined. Harmonious relationships would bring us peace, joy and hope. In contrary, when relationships are broken, it will result in tension, suffering and even hopelessness. You can imagine how it is like living with someone whom you dislike under one roof for decades. What a torture! Therefore, the topic that we will explore in the lesson today is on relationships. First of all, I want to explore about the most basic and most important relationship, that is the relationship between God and man.

Relationships are dynamic. When we discuss this topic, I hope every listener will open his heart to explore, ask and respond to the Word of God. Through this, the lesson will have an impact on your life and your thoughts. And you will begin to think about it.

Human relationship with God before the fall

First of all, we want to explore – according to the Bible, what is the relationship between God and man before his fall? How does the Bible depict it?

According to Genesis 1:1-25 from the Bible, before God created man, He had prepared all sorts of very important things which humans need. These include air, water, the beautiful land and ocean, many trees, fruits on the trees, vegetables on the land, fishes, prawns and creatures in the water, and also many animals and insects on the land. God used a few days to create all these. Then, He created man.

Dear brothers and sisters, we want to ask a very simple question. “Before the creation of man, why had God already prepared a lot of things that the humans need?” Let me ask those of us who have children, “As parents, will you prepare the necessary things that your child needs before he is born?” Or “Will you prepare the necessities, such as diapers, the cradle after the child is born?” Definitely not! As parents, we are very clear that we need to prepare such things before our child is born. Why? The reason is very simple. It is because of love!

In the same way, why did God create the living creatures and everything before He created man? It is because the relationship between God and man is a relationship that is based on love. God loves man, so He prepares everything that the man needs. We are very thankful that everything which we enjoy and the land are symbols and expressions of God’s love. Not only does God bless us with the living creatures, He has also blessed us with something unique that other animals do not have, that is His image. According to Genesis 1:26-27 from the ESV Bible: Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

God created the male and female in His own image. What is this image? This image shows that the animals are different from the humans. The Bible clearly tells us that God created man in His own image, but it did not say that He created the animals in His own image. God’s image is definitely not the external appearance of material things. If this is so, you will ask, “Is God male or female?” The image described here does not point to the external appearance of physical things because God is Spirit.

Then, we ask again, “What is the image of God about?” God’s image is His virtue. God has morality. God is love. He has blessed man with a life of love, morality, righteousness, justice, fairness and kindness! Therefore, human being has a sense of morality that cannot be expressed in words. We can differentiate good from evil; we know what it can or cannot be done; we know what is love. Such love does not refer to the natural love in the animal kingdom but it is a kind of divine love that comes from God. It is called Agape love! That is why human nature is different from animal’s nature. Animals are not created in the image of God. When a tiger eats a rabbit, it will not regret. If it regrets, it must have regretted that the rabbit is too small! However, we are not like that. After we have scolded a person, we cannot sleep all night because our conscience has no peace. We feel sad and think that we should not have scolded that person. What is this called? It is called conscience! People will regret. People have conscience. God has given us conscience because He has created us in His image. Human beings are of value because we have the image and the morality of God.

Secondly, God has the ability to reason. He has made all creatures in order. He is a God with the ability to reason, that is different from the sense of reasoning in the animal kingdom. Monkeys have a sense of reasoning. For example, a monkey knows how to dig the soil and how to look for food. But its reasoning power is different from that of the human’s. Some birds would throw their food into the air and then fling it against the rock. Once the shell is broken, they can eat the nut in it. This is an act of logic. However, the nature of such logic is different from that of the human’s. The reasoning powers of the humans involve creativity and the ability to analyse. For example, monkeys in the past were like the humans. They used their hands to dig the soil. Later, they all evolved into using branches to dig the soil. Much later, after 2000 years, 3000 years, 5000 years and now, the humans use ‘strange hands’, that is the machines to dig the soil. But what about the monkeys? They are still using branches to dig the earth! We are entirely different because the reasoning powers of the humans involve creativity but not the animals. We are created in the image of God.

Thirdly, the image of God not only has virtue and the power to reason but also spirituality. Therefore, humans have eternity. The human will ask: “Where do I come from? What is the meaning of life for me now? Where do I go after death?” Animals do not ask such questions. Have you ever seen a monkey holding 3 joss sticks coming to a big tree for worship? Only humans will worship God because they have spirituality; only humans will ponder over questions pertaining to what happens after death because they have eternity. The humans have the desire to pursue eternity and worship objects in the spiritual world.

Dear brothers and sisters, this is human! The humans are of great worth and are created in the image of God. Therefore, the following verses in the Bible tell us clearly that God has given the humans the authority to manage the living creatures and have dominion over them. This is what the ESV Bible tells us in Genesis 1:27-30. Please listen to me as I read these verses: ‘So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.’

You see, the Lord has given us everything. Then, He says: “You would have dominion over them.” God has endowed the humans with such great power to rule. It is an honour for them. Therefore, they should use such power to have dominion over the living creatures. We have the authority to govern and have dominion, but remember, we do not have the authority to exploit! We cannot exploit the nature unceasingly and destroy it. Today, the world is in a mess and is polluted because humans do not use what God has endowed them with to have dominion over nature; we have become bad stewards and it is not right.

In the beginning, when God created mankind, it was good. Before the fall of mankind, the relationship between God and man was very harmonious; a relationship that was based on love. God has provided the most abundant and appropriate environment for mankind to live in.

Dear brothers and sisters, we have to contemplate our lives seriously – how is my relationship with God? Do I truly possess the image of God and live it out? As God’s sons and daughters, is He pleased with us? Are we faithful stewards? Therefore, let’s take time to think about God’s love towards us today. God has blessed us with a very beautiful life. Let us treasure our lives that are created in the image of God and live our lives that reflect the image of God in our morality, in the physical world and in our relationships with other people. Let us love one another for this is good! Let us respond to God and tell Him “God, I trust in you. I rely on you. I want to live a life that reflects your image! Amen!

Let’s pray together!

Dear Father, we thank you. You have blessed us with good things and we have abundant grace in you. You have created us in your image and endowed us with the power to have dominion over other living creatures. How good it is! Let us live well, work happily and live a life that reflects your image. May we have a harmonious relationship with you and experience your endless love unceasingly. May this love take root in our lives, our families and our nation. May you hear our prayer. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!

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