Created To Lead: Relationships of Impact -3

THE IMAGO DEI AND HUMAN FULFILLMENT - Part Three

Jun 30, 2024

The Source of Meaning

I wrote the following in a doctoral paper over thirty years ago. I included in the series, Created to Lead, that I am writing on Substack in the post, Created to Lead: Paradigm for Humanity

Human beings are God's glory on earth, as Irenaeus said centuries ago. To be the embodiment of God's glory is to bear his image in both similitude and transformative action. It is a reflection that is not superficial but penetrates into the relationships and structures of human society to recreate it in accordance with its purpose. The telos of human life, and appropriately of human institutions and the whole created order, and consequently, the basis for leadership is to bring glory and honor to God. This is done through the fulfillment of the created purpose of every being. For men and women, it is to serve as imago Dei in the earthly realm, carrying out the responsibility to rule over all that God has created. Therefore, to be truly human is to live as Jesus lived his messianic mission, to be both a follower of God and to bear responsible leadership for the care and progress of the whole creation. And this can only happen as the human society is imago trinitatis, realizing the unity, equality and giftedness which is true of the Trinity.

Are Human Beings Good or Evil?

Over the past two or three hundred years, coinciding with the banishment of God from the world of science and philosophy, human beings have been viewed by many as the scourge of all the earth. Many today openly proclaim genocide as the solution to the problems of the planet. Reducing population size has been a political agenda since the 1970s. Even the proponents of this monstrous, evil ideology do not volunteer to lead by example. It displays a serious intellectual deficiency that they cannot muster the creativity to figure out how to save the planet without billions of deaths. This lack of a positive, creative impulse is symbolic of a lack of the creative nature of God.

Are Human Beings evil? Any time you lump everyone into a single group designation, you have an abstraction. Some people are good, others are evil, and many are somewhere in between. But for political purposes, which also means for strategic wealth and power concentration purposes, it is easier to treat all people as detrimental to the planet and should be managed. Of course, those who advocate for genocide believe their position in society warrants their exclusion from these plans.

I believe it is fair to say that this belief in humanity coincides with the separation of religion or biblical belief from the Enlightenment program of science and industry. Tens of millions of people have died over the past century as a product of a program to conquer the evils of humanity. In saying this, we are painting with a wide brush, but as many have said, “One death is a tragedy. A million deaths a statistic.”

We must face the question of whether humanity is ultimately good but corrupted or evil and worthy of eradication. This is a choice being discussed by politicians and business leaders on social media, from pulpits, and in private conversations and prayers.

Is There a Purpose to Humanity?

The idea of a person living to bring glory to God is not an alien idea as it might seem. It emerged as the Bible presented a story of humanity’s history from creation then fall from grace to finally the redemption of all creation through in the event of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the fulcrum event of human history.

This story of the redemption of humanity unfolds as the story of human society. Tom Holland in his book, Dominion: How The Christian Revolution Changed The World writes,

“How was it that a cult inspired by the execution of an obscure criminal in a long-vanished empire came to exercise such a transformative and enduring influence on the world? To attempt an answer to this question … is not to write the history of Christianity. Rather than provide a panoramic survey of its evolution, I have sought instead to trace the currents of Christian influence that have spread most widely, and been most enduring into the present day. … My ambition is … to explore how we in the West came to be what we are, and to think they way that we do. The moral and imaginative upheaval that saw Jesus enshrined as a god by the same imperial order that had tortured him to death did not bring to an end the capacity of Christianity for inspiring profound transformations in societies. Quite the opposite. … Certainly to dream of a world transformed by a reformation, or an enlightenment, or a revolution is nothing exclusively modern. Rather, it is to dream as medieval visionaries dreamed: to dream in the manner of a Christian.
Today, at a time of seismic geopolitical realignment, when our values are proving to be not nearly as universal as some of us had assumed them to be, the need to recognize just how culturally contingent they are is more pressing than ever. To live in a Western country is to live in a society still utterly saturated by Christian concepts and assumptions.”

If true, then the particulars of religiousness and secularism operate in a larger universal context of belief that is essentially humanist. For the Christ event, as some theologians have called it, was a turning point in human history. Prior to this moment in time, all humanity lived under the subjugation of tyrannical empires. Human beings had no standing as individuals. Human life was cheap, hard, and short. People were essentially beasts of burden. Even the humanitarianism of the Greek classical era did not reach down to provide the common person belief that their life mattered.

Read the stories in the Gospels, and you see, as I wrote about the woman at the well’s encounter with Jesus, a validation of the individual as having worth. The power of these stories over the past two millennia is so comprehensive that we recognize that genocide is not a normal belief system. It is explicitly anti-human and anti-Christian. This corrupt and evil system of belief stands in strong relief because of the cultural impact that two millennia of Christian influence has had.

This perspective is not a reason to believe or disbelieve in Christianity. Rather, we are given reasons to ask questions about the source of our beliefs in humanity as either good or evil. Ultimately, the answer leads us to see the purpose of humanity as a core question that we each must answer for ourselves.

Everyone I know lives for some purpose. Even if they are unaware of their purpose, there is some focus to their lives. It may be a question that gets them out of bed in the morning. It motivates them to pursue some endeavor that may lack a clear articulation yet has a powerful hold on them.

To have a sense of purpose elevates an idea, a cause, or an organization to a level that establishes meaning for living. For the past two or three hundred years, a job has served as a focused purpose for many people. The job may be mundane, yet they still show up and give their best selves to the work that is required. Many people I know see their work as a calling by God to live a life of faith as Christ lived. This is the meaning of living imago Christi.

To live gloria Deo est homo is to understand that there is a higher purpose derived from a relationship with God. It is not something I choose from a list of possible choices. It is rather something that has been revealed to me that I receive as a gift. From a biblical/theological perspective, this is how consciousness transcends my awareness of what is happening around me. We see life transcending the material to exist at the intersection of time and eternity.

Throughout the two millennia of the Christian era, this understanding is presented through the image of a relationship between God the Creator and individual persons as Created beings. The metaphor of relationship between a Father and a Son was how Jesus explained his relationship as a human being to the eternal creator.

Two passages from Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church can help us understand what this relationship is like.

Provided below is the text of Ephesians 1:3-14. The letter was first heard by the members of this congregation. Here is the audio version.

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-1:56

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Paul presents the idea that there is a relationship between God and persons. This relationship is not accidental or simply religious. It is rather a perspective about the totality of all that exists. Whether you call this reality Creation or the Real World, we have a relationship with all things and people existing in time and space within the transcendent context of eternity.

This is clearly not a perspective embraced by the modern world. It is both material and transcendent. It is empirical only in retrospect. It is a perspective that does not lend itself to a priori systemic proof.

How can something that exists apart from this material world be tested in a scientific sense?

How can we reject the phenomenon of experience from our questioning?

How can our systems for understanding existence change to include that which is beyond our control?

My experience has been the constant test to determine whether God is present and I can trust him. It was the question presented to me as a 17-year-old high school student. It was not a question of faith or religious conversion. It was a question of whether God exists and if so, what does a relationship to God mean. At this point in my life, I’m thoroughly convinced that both questions are true. However, at the same time, I do not have a final answer. It is still the defining test of my life that gives me purpose to be the person that I am.

Paul presents a perspective that human existence has a purpose that is connected to a relationship with God’s purpose and presence in this world. Over the centuries, we’ve articulated this in religious terms, but it is much more than religious observance. It is rather contained in how we live our lives.

If all that exists is of God, then all that we do has a connection to God’s purpose. Paul is telling the Ephesian people that their work, whatever that may be, has value. He is telling this to people who live under Roman imperial authority. The same rule that crucified Jesus. Paul is speaking not in the context of a middle-class American suburban family. But to subjects of Roman rule. Paul is telling them that their lives do have meaning, not simply in themselves but also in their relationship with God.

Missing Meaning

As a minister who has spent most of his career working in secular environments, I find that people want to talk about the things that matter to them. Questions about the connection between faith in God and meaning in life seem to be present in the background of many people’s thoughts. Some people are religious in their adherence to biblical beliefs and membership in a local congregation. Others are not religious at all. Yet they both share a perspective that human life should have meaning. It is a hard and difficult question for many people because their standards for meaning in life are high. Of course, they should be.

There is no simple way to describe this missing meaning. Each person defines meaning in a different way. Yet, it always has something to do with purpose. It answers,

Why do I do this work rather than something else?

Am I stuck in a job that I don’t like because my purpose isn’t clear?

Do I not understand my purpose because I don’t have a sufficient ground of meaning for my life?

I don’t know. I can’t answer these questions for people. I can only ask the questions in conversation with them.

Recently in my conversations with people, I find that the COVID pandemic was a turning point for many people. Prior to the pandemic, their lives were challenging yet self-contained. The transition that happened was the realization that certain aspects of their lives had not been given enough attention. Meaning, purpose, fulfillment, and relationships began to take on a higher priority.

I began to have people asking me questions about faith and spirituality. Publically, I had not said much about my faith or my experience as a minister. I felt that there was a kind of binary trap set for these discussions. Religious people would cheer on my presentation of the Gospel. Yet, I knew few would internalize what I was saying. Non-religious people would turn a deaf ear because they had already decided that religion was not relevant to their lives. Childhood experiences of boring church services and weakly argued sermons had released them from having to seek answers as adults. The gap between the two was hard and deep. So, I kept quiet and addressed the more human questions that both sides could hear.

The change I saw taking place was the severing of the ties between people and the institutions they served. Their work at a particular company previously gave them meaning. The institutional relationship of job, performance, financial compensation, and the people at work became the ground of meaning. Challenges related to pay and job culture were endurable because there was acceptable stability in the relationship. Many businesses opted for remote work, and a transition process began for the person and the organization.

New possibilities opened up for people. One of those was the openness to being a person of faith. The expression of belief in Jesus Christ and the experience of newfound faith have become staples of many social media podcasts. In essence, people were beginning to discover meaning and purpose in terms similar to what Paul describes above.

Meaning In Doing

The inspiration for my definition of leadership,

All leadership begins with personal initiative to create impact that makes a difference that matters.

comes from this passage in Ephesians 2:4-10.

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-1:13

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Paul is telling the Ephesian people two things.

He wants them to understand that the life of faith is a gift. It is a gracious gift of kindness and purpose. It is the source of the meaning of faith.
He also wants them to understand that faith is not a passive state of belief. It is a calling to action to fulfill a purpose in gracious response to the gift.

The challenge of this perspective and why it may be easier to speak in purely mechanical terms is that leadership is not simply a role and a title in an organization. Forty years ago, this was the prevailing assumption about leaders. Leaders were acknowledged to be at the top of the institutional hierarchy. There are few leaders and many followers. As soon as this belief became apparent to me, I rejected it.

I did so largely because of the influence of the Gospel stories of Jesus’ encounters with people, and Paul’s letters to the first churches of the Christian era. Paul pointed to the dignity and value of every human being. Faith was more than a set of abstraction beliefs about God, Jesus, and the church. Faith is measured by how we live.

The implications are many. But two are worth noting.

Life is lived through the decisions we make and the actions we take based on those decisions. Our purpose in life is the interrelationship between what we do, why we do it, and how we conduct ourselves.

My Circle of Impact model is built around three dimensions that provide the basis and context for these decisions and actions.

We seek to be clear about what our values are and how they inform our purpose.
We seek to develop relationships of respect, trust, and mutuality.
We seek to understand how organizational and social structure affects us. We need this clarity so that we are in a position to create the change needed to fulfill the shared purpose that defines our relationships.

The leadership of personal initiative to create impact in our local communities is how we live our lives.

We seek to make a difference that matters.
We seek to build relationships of shared initiative to take on the larger challenges we face.
With a focus on our purpose for impact, we see structures as fluid and malleable.
This is how the Circle of Impact can be utilized as a simple tool for bringing people together for shared purpose.

Meaning from this perspective is not an abstraction but the articulation of concrete action. When the organization is organized in this way, the work has meaning beyond the benefit to the institution. The question of what is the impact that we seek is constantly in mind.

Does this understanding of humanity and its purpose require a belief in God? It does not. For two thousand years, people have borrowed from the culture of Christian belief to give reason to what they do.

Faith, though, does provide a deeper incentive and a wider perspective on the value of our actions. It enriches our purpose. This is particularly true when we see that our acts of leadership initiative bring glory to God.