“‘You have put all things in subjection under his feet.’ For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him” (Hebrews 2:8).
The March 18, 1923, edition of The New York Times contained a report on an interview with English mountaineer George Mallory. While Mallory may not be well-known among many today, he is often recognized for his remarkable answer to a seemingly unremarkable question. When asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, Mallory famously replied, “Because it’s there.”
Mallory’s now-familiar statement is a faint echo of the commission that human beings received from their Creator as seen here in Hebrews 2:8: “You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” Consider this passage from Hebrews as it relates to the following portion of Scripture from the Biblical book of Genesis…
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, 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.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth'” (Genesis 1:26-28).
Knowingly or unknowingly, human beings have long sought to fulfill this call to dominion over nature through land, sea, and space exploration. That purpose will find its ultimate fulfillment following Jesus’ second advent…
“Everything will be put under man’s authority in that coming day -the angelic hosts, the world of animals, birds, and fishes, the planetary system-in fact, every part of the created universe will be put under his control. This was God’s original intention for man.” (1)
Some, like the late cosmologist Stephen Hawking, hold the belief that human beings are “…just a slightly advanced breed of monkeys on a small planet orbiting a very average star. But we can understand the universe, and that makes us very special.” (2) But what actually makes humanity special is not our ability to understand; it is the fact that God has created us in His image and has graciously called us to assume a leadership position over His creation.
(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad Thomas Nelson Publishers p.2162
(2) Stephen Hawking interview with Der Spiegel. “Wir alle wollen wissen, woher wir kommen” [“We all want to know where we come from”] 16.10.1988. Retrieved 24 December 2021 from https://www.spiegel.de/politik/wir-alle-wollen-wissen-woher-wir-kommen-a-907a4c36-0002-0001-0000-000013542088?context=issue