When you picture the Garden of Eden, what comes to mind?

A quick google search reveals images of gorgeous streams, manicured lawns, and blooming trees, with humans and animals living in seemingly endless harmony. Idyllic perfection.

But is this what life is really like in the garden?

When humans are formed on the sixth day of creation, The Creator blesses us, telling us to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over what is around us. At the end of that day, as the Creator beholds all that has been made, They see something that is tov meod- exceedingly good.

But is blessing and goodness the same thing as idyllic perfection? If we are longing to get back to the paradise of the garden, do we know what it is we are looking for?

Let’s take a closer look in two parts. The Garden Part 1: There is Work and The Garden Part 2: There is a Snake.

There is Work in the Garden

YHWH, God, took the human and set him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and to watch it. - Genesis 2:15 (Everett Fox translation)

We are not just put in the garden to relax, we are put into it with a job to do: to work ( or serve, eved in Hebrew) and to watch (or guard, shamar in Hebrew).

Have you ever thought of the Garden of Eden being a place that required tending?

It’s not an automatic paradise. It’s a place that’s co-created with the work of humans and the life-force of God. Even the blessing we were given earlier reveals that idea- to have dominion is rada, it’s the action of treading down, like stepping on the grapes to turn them into wine, or taming the wild earth into a flat tillable garden bed.

We are placed into the spring season of the earth, full of potential, inviting us to co-create its flourishing.

The garden invites us to participate with our hearts, spirits, minds, and bodies.

What if the garden is a picture of the work of co-creative participation that humans are placed on this earth to do?

I think about the kitchen project we are currently working on at my house. Its design took creativity, and its implementation has required late nights and sore arms. We’ve had to make (read: fight through) lots of decisions along the way. It is hard work. And yet, it is also deeply satisfying to watch the progress. We are making something.

A house project is just one example. There are so many more.

When have you found satisfaction in co-creating something?

How was the goodness that came from that work different from ease or idyllic perfection? How might our work be required to bring about the future we are hoping for?

Working for goodness with you,
Steph

Don’t miss The Garden Part 2: There is a Snake, coming next week.

In the meantime, while you’re on our website, don’t miss the chance to check out our study opportunities: We have some studies on potentially dangerous questions and an in-person outdoor experience all coming this summer. Click on our register page to learn more.

The Work of the Garden

There is Work in the Garden

Have you ever thought of the Garden of Eden being a place that required tending?

What if the garden is a picture of the work of co-creative participation that humans are placed on this earth to do?

When have you found satisfaction in co-creating something?

Don’t miss The Garden Part 2: There is a Snake, coming next week.