“What I ought to be!”

“I may not be what I ought to be but I thank God I’m not what I used to be.” Most Christians have heard this statement before and no doubt some have even said it. There’s just one problem with this statement, why aren’t we what we’re supposed to be? The scriptures clearly outlines a list of expectations God has for his people and becoming who we were created to be has always been at the top of that list.

Genesis 2:15-17 King James Version (KJV)

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

As we can see from this passage of scripture Adam was given very specific instructions. From the beginning he was to maintain and manage his environment. While Adam was given the commandment
they were both Adam and Eve were given dominion. In other words they were commanded to take dominion over their world and not the other way around. Genesis 1:28 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

When Adam and Eve stop being whom and what God created them to be they were expelled from the Garden. However, the responsibility to have dominion was never rescinded. What does this mean for us today? We still have a mandate to have dominion over the environment God has placed us in. So, our desire should be Lord help me to become what we were created to be. Lord help me become, “What I Ought To Be!”.