It is an awesome wonder that God would create us in His own image and call us to rule as His representatives upon the earth. That is an amazing stewardship to which we are all called. Yet, while this is true, what is often missed in this equation is the reality that man was made to accomplish on earth that which God intended as part of His plan. Man is not just a part of what God is doing. We are, by divine design, essential to God's ordering of how the world should operate. Genesis 2:5-9 records a sequence that can be missed if not given attention.
5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up
—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the
ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground
— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in
Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the
Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of
life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Notice the phrase, "and there was no man to work the ground" (v5). When the Lord created the earth, He created it ready to produce fruit but, we are told that, there was no man to work the ground. The scripture tells us that the Lord planted the garden and put man there (v8). Then we are told that the Lord made every tree to come out of the ground (v9). Ponder this fact: the Lord who created the world chose not to simply let the ground produce trees and vegetation but, instead, put man in the garden to work the ground.
In other words, we are being shown that the Lord, who created all things, put laws divine designs) into place to not only sustain His creation but to make it fruitful. We are told that nothing sprung up because there was no rain, and no one was there to work the ground. The point is this: the Lord of the universe has designed things in such a way that specific ends cannot happen without specific means in place to make them happen. In the design and economy of God man is not created to simply be a responder to the Lord - thought this is chief. Rather, man is created to be a necessary means by which the created ends and purposes of God are achieved. No man to work the ground meant no vegetation could be cultivated and this cultivation was God purpose.
God has so designed His plan for the world to be logically in need of humankind to bring it about, in partnership with Him in the Holy Spirit. That is an amazing reality. The God of the universe, who could choose to do all things (BHFH) by Himself and for Himself, chooses to give man a priority in His plans. Because man is in the image of God he not only images God but he can operate in concert with God to bring about glorious things such as: the salvation of men by the preaching of the gospel (Acts 2:1ff); healing through prayer (James 5:16ff), the redemption of an unknown people group by evangelism (Matthew 24:14) and even hastening (bringing about more quickly) the coming of the Lord (2 Peter 3:11-12).
To live in honor of the Lord, then, is to understand that He has so designed and purposed our lives to accomplish extraordinary things through us. It is not as though the Lord needs us, but it is not outside the realm of reflection to say that He has created his plan in such a way that we are a needed component. In 2 Chronicles 16:9 we are told that "...the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him...." We are told that the Lord is looking for those who are devoted to His will, those whom He can and will use to advance His glory and kingdom. Paul puts it this way in 1 Cor 1:26-27
26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly
standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is
foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the
strong;
God chooses to use those who, by worldly standards, are misfits, to show His power and glory to the world. Notice that God does not need to use anyone or anything! Yet, He chooses to use men for this purpose.
Before the cross, man was a complete failure in achieving God's ends because sin had so corrupted our will and intentions (Genesis 6:5). In sheer grace He did the unthinkable and the unimaginable: He came as the God-Man in the person of Christ. In Christ, God would achieve the one thing man was created to achieve but could not: the fulfillment of His will. The sinless and perfect Savior would honor the Father in action and affection - completely. In His life, death and resurrection Christ achieved the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11) and became, therefore, the founder and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Our significance, therefore, is not in our humanity but in our recreated and redeemed humanity in which Christ now operates (Galatians 2:20). Our purpose for life is never to be found in self-improvement, but self-renunciation. The glory of the Lord demands men and women whose lives model and reflect the life of the perfect Man, Christ: a life of humble obedience to the cross. Our worth is found exclusively in the worth of Christ and God has so designed it that your life matters for His fame and glory (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Jesus did not purchase you to shelve you. He redeemed you so that your life might be a trophy of His grace such that the light of your life - a life lived on purpose for His purpose - might so shine that, men will see it and glorify God (Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:4-7).
Where has the Lord planted your life?
Wherever that is, you can be certain that there is fruit that needs to be born out of the ground upon which you tread. Sure, the Lord could achieve all of this on His own. He is the Creator of all things. Yet, He has so designed it that He has you where you are because your life counts for the fruit He wants to birth.
Make your life count by living it in the truth of its necessity. God's glory, in an amazing and awesome fashion, depends on it