Created to Be

Reaffirming the Reality of Who I Am

as Part of the Body of Christ

Our relationship to Christ provides the foundation

for a life of health, growth and effective Kingdom

service.

Why Was I Created?

I was createdTo Love God and to Love

All That God Loves

The Power of imago dei

I am capable of consciously receiving love and sharing love with others.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female

he created them.-Genesis 1:27

Commanded to Love. . .

Jesus replied, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All

the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

-Matthew 22:37-40

A Love for All of Creation. . .. . .Fill the earth and subdue it. . . -Genesis 1:28

. . .the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. . . . -Leviticus 25:23-24

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; the world and all who live in it. -Psalm 24: 1

The Nature of Love. . .Love is rooted in an intimate relationship

of worship and adoration of God

Because God is love (I John 4: 8), any true experience of love begins—and ends—

with an encounter with God that affirms His sovereignty and our submission.

In this spirit of divine intimacy we become partakers of the Spirit of God.

The fruit of the encounter is identified in Galatians 5:22 as:

Love, Joy, Peace

Love is outwardly focused: on God and on all that God loves

For God so loved the world that He gave. . -John 3:16

To love is to say, “I will live my life to help every person I encounter experience this

love that God has so freely shared with me—as I have opportunity—to help them

have an intimate encounter with God in their own life’s journey.”

The fruit of our personal spiritual encounter with God transferred to our

interpersonal relationships is marked by:

Patience, Kindness, Goodness

I Corinthians 12-13

Romans 12

Philippians 2: 1-11

I John 3:11-24

Love is a conscious choice made in response to the grace of God

experienced inwardly through a faith relationship with Jesus

The experience of our own life in growing into the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13)

leads us to a discipline of self and relationships that will continue

throughout all of life.

The fruit of the Holy Spirit that guides and defines the nature of our own personal

growth and development are identified by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 as:

Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control

Our own spiritual formation is informed significantly by our willingness to enter

into this life of divinely ordained discipline.

Created to Be. . . .

•In intimate, loving relationship with God•Growing in my understanding of what it means to be created in divine image •Developing a loving attitude toward all who have been created in divine image•Growing in my understanding of the stewardship of all of life through all of creation

SHAPE

Growth Through Connection