Wanted: Full-Time Gardeners

Dear Friends,

This morning I’ve been pondering Adam, of “Adam and Eve” fame. My pondering started during my morning Bible reading in Genesis - specifically Genesis 2:15, which says:  “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.”  Sometimes we may picture Adam just wandering around the garden all day, but this verse tells us he was given a job to do: “tend” the Garden of Eden.

When I read that verse this morning, I pictured Adam as a “gardener”, and so my mental image of what Adam did each day was based on my understanding of what a full-time gardener would do. But then I decided to look up the word “tend” in Hebrew, and discovered that the original word used for “tend” was nothing like my definition of a “gardener”. Instead, the Hebrew word meant that Adam was given the job of exploring and discovering the mysteries of what God had created.

So Adam's job was literally to walk with the Creator of the universe, live in fellowship with Him, and explore the wonders of His creation. Sounds like a pretty amazing job to me, and one that I initially was more than a little jealous of.

However, as I've continued to pondered that detail about Adam, what I've come to realize is that God has given all of us that same job description. We’re here to walk through life with the Creator of the universe, to live in fellowship with Him, and to explore the wonders of His creation. And just like Adam, God has even given us companions - family, friends, spouses - to do that with.

The problem we face is the same one Adam did: the temptation to ignore the job God has given us to do. The reality is that, when we choose to sin, we're basically looking at the “work” God gave us to do and choosing to do something else instead. We’re choosing to not walk with God, to not fellowship with Him, to not enjoy His creation. Instead, we’re going our own way and doing our own thing. The result is that we miss out on all the “job benefits” God has set up to go along with the work He’s given us to do - things like peace, contentment, hope, joy, and intimate fellowship with our Creator.

So today, let's do the job God has given us to do. Let’s say “no” to the temptation to go our own way, and instead, let's spend the day walking with God, enjoying His fellowship, and appreciating His creation.

Amen?

Daniel