October 17 - Genesis 2:15

The Lord God took the man

and put him in the Garden of Eden

to work it and take care of it

Genesis 2:15

 

I'm aware of the irony of choosing a "work" passage for a Sunday -- "the day of rest."

 

It was here, on page two of the scripture -- Genesis 2 -- that Sabbath was woven into the fabric of creation ("and on the seventh day, God ... rested"). And it is here, Genesis 2 again, that God joins our work to his -- which is what Genesis 1 was about.

 

It's Sunday. How will you rest?

 

Wait ... I'm not talking about lying on the couch and watching football. I'm talking about Sabbath rest.

 

In God's economy, he envisioned us devoting six days a week to the world -- not in a worldly way, but in terms of getting things in this worldly existence done. Then he invited us to come and spend a day with him -- not with the NFL ... or shopping ... or ...

 

In our world, we don't understand work nor rest -- at least not the way God intended them. He intended our work to involve joining him in creativity. And he envisioned rest as re-creating ourselves in relationship with him. No wonder we're exhausted. Most of us are doing neither right.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who keeps trying

to not be so upside down and exhausted