In Summary

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Jesus (John 10:10)

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."

Jesus (John 17:3-5)

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Jesus (Matthew 6:31-33)

As Brian Houston says: "Your life was meant for living". There is no other purpose than that (if one may even label that phrase as a purpose). We were not made to be God's slaves, just as women were not made to be men's slaves. Life is all about relationship and walking hand-in-hand in harmony with each other, being one big large happy family, as we go about doing the delightful beautiful tasks God has laid before us, which by definition bring glory to God.

But ever since Adam & Eve's fall into sin, God has been working out a plan of salvation on the earth, and those who now join with Him are also entrusted with this work as well.

There is, as we may define it, a 'shift in task emphasis'. The task has been expanded beyond (but I believe not annulling) the original "be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it". Not only are we now to personally seek entry into God's kingdom, and submit to His means of obtaining righteousness (which is through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus), but we are also called to be co-workers in bringing others into the Kingdom of God and practicing His righteousness in the world, in accordance with the gifts and talents He gives us. This is the new 'number one priority task' which is delightful and beautiful in God's eyes, to which we should and must direct all of our creative and ingenious abilities. This earth can no longer be our focus since it is riddled with sin and evil, and will soon be done away with (cf 2 Peter 3).

The six steps help us, I believe, to fulfill all the above.

Allow me to use two final illustrations to help us grasp the process.

First, using a gardening analogy, Alpha buys the land back from the enemy, Beta gets rid of all the large deep roots to enemy territory, and many finer ones at the surface, and rocks etc, which will only keep the land unproductive, and replaces the bad soil with good, fertilized soil. Gamma & Delta is seed sowing and watering into the new land, along with pruning of the new growth. Epsilon is pruning and controlling the direction of the growth. Zeta equips one to be a co-helper with God in all the previous processes.

Secondly, the dynamics of human sexuality and child upbringing provide remarkable parallels with Alpha to Zeta. Consider the following scant outline as a guide:

There must first be covenant relationship, ideally between a loving and caring man and woman, else the child is just the product of rape or lust, and thus there will be no good environment for the child to grow up in.

Seed must sown for the baby to be born

Conception does not always occur
- timing must be right
- defense mechanisms removed

Once conception occurs, need to avoid dangers
- natural abortion
- forced abortion
- right diet
- mother really does change in her moods, etc

The growing baby and mother need careful attention

Birth is a bloody, messy, tiring, screaming, but joyful affair in the end

The resulting baby is just the beginning
- needs constant care; it is totally dependent on its parents; needs parents to direct, teach, specifically input into their lives
- teaching and discipline is needed from day zero, whether the baby realizes it or not, all in a constant attitude and atmosphere of loving care
- the growing baby gets its values, and grows in the right way, virtually by osmosis
- it comes to love being part of the family, without even realizing why
- diet begins with milk, and then expands to other foods

Only much later in life does it make many conscious decisions and finally come to maturity, able to stand on its own two feet, able to discern good from evil.

Discipline from birth to maturity all occurs because it is a part of the family; its birth origins are pointed back to: "Being part of this family, you do things this way"

This family unit is inter-connected with other family units, either by blood or by friendship, and thus the child has genuine siblings, cousins, uncles & aunties, and 'pseudo' cousins, uncles, aunties etc. All these relationships are necessary for overall growth. The more the family grows, the more these increase, grandparents come on the scene, and so much more.