We visited Hoover Dam today. Nothing can mentally prepare you for the sheer size of this engineering masterpiece. There is enough concrete in the dam structure to build a 4-foot wide sidewalk around the equator of the earth! That’s a lot of cement.
As we toured the massive infrastructure and listened to the courageous stories of how it was built, my mind wandered to the theology of it all. Yes, my kids are right, I really can find theology in anything.
Go with me for a minute. Have you ever wondered why God just made a garden? Why did He just make raw materials? Why didn’t he build roads, and houses, and cities, and dams?
Because it’s our job. The Creator of the universe has offered us a partnership agreement.
God made man to fill the earth, to have dominion over it, and to subdue it (Genesis 1:28). You can’t gaze on Hoover Dam without seeing this Creation mandate in full view.
Subduing Creation
Water is a major issue in the Southwest, and the Colorado River brought water down from the mountains as an uncontrolled force through the region. To harness this natural resource, engineers started by rerouting the Colorado River! Over nineteen months, they dug multiple diversion tunnels into the canyon walls and literally moved the raging flow of water, drying the riverbed for construction of the dam.
Then thousands of men worked in three shifts, 24-hours a day, 363 days per year to build the dam structure, completing it two years ahead of schedule. Hoover Dam now provides hydro-electric power for 1,000,000 people and diverts the water in a controlled manner through the arid region allowing for human flourishing.
What About You?
When we go to work each day, we too have the opportunity to partner with God, to have dominion over creation and subdue it to the glory of God and the love of our neighbor. You don’t have to build a modern wonder of the world to make this happen. Whether you’re a brain surgeon or sweep floors, your job is an opportunity to partner with the Creator of the universe. Each of us carries this mandate.
“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” –Genesis 1:28
