What we learned at Radiate

Pittsburgh Metro Cru,

Over the break, many of us had the awesome opportunity to go to RADIATE 2012: Restore. If you were there, this post can be a fun recap and refresher. For the many who weren't able to join us, here's what we learned about from speaker Tim Henderson:


God's restoration of us and all things

To be 'restored', something must first be created/obtained, then suffer some sort of damage. This is true of us:

1. We were created in God's image. We are who we are because He is who He is. This means He gave us:

• Rank: we have real, innate value because we are like Him who is infinitely valuable
• Rule: just as He rules over all things, we exercise rule over things (nature, numbers, projects, etc.)
• Relate: the triune God is a Relationship, and likewise we are made for relationship
• Reflect: just as He is glorious, we in our worship and obedience are glorious in the sense that we reflect His glory

2. We suffered great damage at the Fall when we bought into Satan's con. It was truly a con in the sense that he promised Eve what she already had (likeness to God), and she lost that very thing in the process. Our ability to bear God's image has been marred and warped. This is evident in all those ways we were meant to bear His image:

• Rank: we look for value in status, wealth, romance, popularity, achievement...
• Rule: humans' leadership and authority trends either toward cowardly passivity or oppressive tyranny
• Relate: broken families and damaged relationships are everywhere
• Reflect: rather than reflect His glory, we attempt to create our own; we seek to be suns rather than moons

Jesus restores us back to the image-bearers of God. It's beautiful how God has been planning this since before creation:

We were made in God's image so that
The Son of God could be made in our image so that
We could be truly restored to His image through our union with the Son

Jesus can restore us because He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice. His perfection can be seen in many ways. Not only did He perfectly bear God's image in that He had the Rank of a child of God, His Rule was decisive but humble, He Related to people with grace and truth, and He continually Reflected the Father's glory, but He also:

• went where the Father wanted Him to go
• did what the Father wanted Him to do
• said what the Father wanted Him to say
• gave what the Father wanted Him to give

We who now by faith are one with Christ and share in His likeness are invited to do the same! Will you go, do, say, and give whatever God wants?

Finally, we looked at Revelation 21 and at how God is restoring not just us, but all things, to Himself!

"Behold, I am making all things new."
-God, Revelation 21:5