Genesis 2:15 “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”
Have you ever thought about the enormous task Adam received from God? The task of maintaining the Garden of Eden. He wasn’t born a gardener, and he had zero background on gardening. He didn’t even know a flower stem from a grass root, and had no parents or friends to phone or SMS for help or guidance. He only had God (if you read Genesis 2, you will see that Eve was only formed after Adam received his instruction from God, so she knew nothing about Adam’s role in the garden). Yet, nowhere in Genesis will you find a verse where Adam is complaining about his work.
Have you ever thought about the enormous task Adam received from God? The task of maintaining the Garden of Eden. He wasn’t born a gardener, and he had zero background on gardening. He didn’t even know a flower stem from a grass root, and had no parents or friends to phone or SMS for help or guidance. He only had God (if you read Genesis 2, you will see that Eve was only formed after Adam received his instruction from God, so she knew nothing about Adam’s role in the garden). Yet, nowhere in Genesis will you find a verse where Adam is complaining about his work.
Or a verse where Adam is pessimistic or negative about his ability to do the garden maintenance. He accepted this huge task without asking questions, and he tackled it like he was a pro! Why? The reason might be twofold: (1) He didn’t know better, (2) He had God on his side! He received his first job without an interview, and he had the best mentor anyone could wish for – God.
In spite of Adam’s lack of experience and knowledge, God still trusted him 100%, and never questioned what he was doing. Well, let me share my own little gardening story, just to make sure Adam gets the necessary credit for accepting his massive first task! At the beginning of summer I decided to redo our garden. I planted a variety of seeds. But since I’m not a gardener, I could not tell a flower from a weed. After the first couple of rain sessions, the wanted and unwanted plants sprung up like crazy, and I had no choice but to examine and learn what my flower stems look like. But without the nasty weeds, I would never have learned what weeds look like, so it actually served a purpose. |
Matthew 13:24 – 26; 37-39 “Another parable He set forth before them, saying, The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed also darnel (weeds resembling wheat) among the wheat, and went on his way. So when the plant sprouted and formed grain, the darnel (weeds) appeared also… 37He answered, He Who sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world, and the good seed means the children of the Kingdom; the darnel is the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed it is the devil.” We have a spiritual duty in our own gardens as well. First of all, we also need to accept the responsibility to do garden maintenance. |
Although it is very convenient to wait for God to do everything in our lives, it is necessary for us to learn what good plants look like, and what unwanted plants look like. We can’t just accept anything that happens as “God’s will for us”. And if we recognize something that can’t serve a good purpose, we need to ask the question “is this not maybe a weed in my life that I need to get rid of?” Secondly, we need to stop complaining and questioning everything that happens in our lives. It might be that you just had a lot of rain, and that it is time for you to learn to recognize the good from the bad (and to undoubtedly get rid of the bad!). And lastly, remember that God trusts you (just like He trusted Adam) one hundred percent. You will reap the rewards of hard garden maintenance, if you just trust God for guidance.
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Happy gardening!
Yolandi
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Happy gardening!
Yolandi