"Created to "Tend the Garden"
AMBASSADOR
Man is like God, but is not God. Man has been highly exalted over creation and given dominion and power to reign. It would be similar to a powerful emperor who appoints a trusted compatriot to rule in his place while traveling afar for an extended period of time; or an ambassador of a country who has been granted the authority of the King to enter into peace treaties or agreements with other rulers.
As long as the Prince or the ambassador abides by the wishes of the King, all is well. Now if that Prince or Ambassador ceases to abide by the King’s established laws and wishes, then havoc occurs. If they begin to focus upon their own personal interests and the pursuit of more power, then problems will most certainly arise between them and the King…I’m talking serious problems. After all, their job, their mission, their life, their service, their title, their goal is to reign according to the King’s wishes. When that trust is broken through selfish ambition or hunger for power, the kingdom begins to fall apart. What will happen when the king discovers their disobedience?
Although we were created “god-like” in many regards and given dominion over the earth, we are not “God.” There is only one God. The creation can never possibly be elevated to a position on the same level as the Creator. Nevertheless, Adam and Eve were deceived into thinking just that.” And it continues today as mankind seeks to rule the world and be “gods.”
“TEND” THE GARDEN
Adam and Eve were placed into a stunning paradise, the Garden of Eden. They “had it made in the shade.” They were created perfectly in the very image of God. They had an intimate, personal relationship with the Creator walking and talking with Him like a long-time best friend.
Not one of us actually enjoys labor intensive, mind-numbing, heavy labor. We would rather not work numerous hours day after day, year after year. This is the reason for retirement, right?
Did you know that one of the curses or the punishment of our sin and rebellion toward God is strenuous labor in order to earn a living? Genesis 3:17 – “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.”
Since humankind was the caretaker of all the earth, the entire world “fell” (if you will) when Adam and Eve “fell.” It “went down with the ship.” What were Adam and Eve doing before this time? Didn’t they have to work at all? Genesis 2:15 states God put Adam into the Garden of Eden to “tend and keep” it. This appears to imply that Adam and Eve did not lie around in the garden all day staring up at the sun and the clouds eating grapes. They were given a chore, tasks if you will. Therefore part of our created nature is to be gainfully employed. We were created “to create” and to work and to fix and to beautify and so forth. This can and should bring us fulfillment and pleasure.
However, after our sin and rebellion, work became more “toil and trouble.” The earth was cursed. It no longer yielded its resources so easily. It would now take long hours of hard work to make a living instead of a little caretaking. The consequences of sin were immediate and devastating. Sin has now infected every fiber of our being and every nook and cranny of creation.
AMBASSADOR
Man is like God, but is not God. Man has been highly exalted over creation and given dominion and power to reign. It would be similar to a powerful emperor who appoints a trusted compatriot to rule in his place while traveling afar for an extended period of time; or an ambassador of a country who has been granted the authority of the King to enter into peace treaties or agreements with other rulers.
As long as the Prince or the ambassador abides by the wishes of the King, all is well. Now if that Prince or Ambassador ceases to abide by the King’s established laws and wishes, then havoc occurs. If they begin to focus upon their own personal interests and the pursuit of more power, then problems will most certainly arise between them and the King…I’m talking serious problems. After all, their job, their mission, their life, their service, their title, their goal is to reign according to the King’s wishes. When that trust is broken through selfish ambition or hunger for power, the kingdom begins to fall apart. What will happen when the king discovers their disobedience?
Although we were created “god-like” in many regards and given dominion over the earth, we are not “God.” There is only one God. The creation can never possibly be elevated to a position on the same level as the Creator. Nevertheless, Adam and Eve were deceived into thinking just that.” And it continues today as mankind seeks to rule the world and be “gods.”
“TEND” THE GARDEN
Adam and Eve were placed into a stunning paradise, the Garden of Eden. They “had it made in the shade.” They were created perfectly in the very image of God. They had an intimate, personal relationship with the Creator walking and talking with Him like a long-time best friend.
Not one of us actually enjoys labor intensive, mind-numbing, heavy labor. We would rather not work numerous hours day after day, year after year. This is the reason for retirement, right?
Did you know that one of the curses or the punishment of our sin and rebellion toward God is strenuous labor in order to earn a living? Genesis 3:17 – “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.”
Since humankind was the caretaker of all the earth, the entire world “fell” (if you will) when Adam and Eve “fell.” It “went down with the ship.” What were Adam and Eve doing before this time? Didn’t they have to work at all? Genesis 2:15 states God put Adam into the Garden of Eden to “tend and keep” it. This appears to imply that Adam and Eve did not lie around in the garden all day staring up at the sun and the clouds eating grapes. They were given a chore, tasks if you will. Therefore part of our created nature is to be gainfully employed. We were created “to create” and to work and to fix and to beautify and so forth. This can and should bring us fulfillment and pleasure.
However, after our sin and rebellion, work became more “toil and trouble.” The earth was cursed. It no longer yielded its resources so easily. It would now take long hours of hard work to make a living instead of a little caretaking. The consequences of sin were immediate and devastating. Sin has now infected every fiber of our being and every nook and cranny of creation.
