Our Daily Bread - July 27
Cultivating God’s World / By:Glenn Packiam 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
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Genesis 1:26–27 (NIV):
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 2:15 (NIV):
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
“Dad, why do you have to go to work?” The question from my young daughter was motivated by her desire to play with me. I would have preferred to skip work and spend time with her, but there was a growing list of things at work that required my attention. The question, nevertheless, is a good one. Why do we work? Is it simply to provide for ourselves and for the people we love? What about labor that’s unpaid—why do we do that?
Genesis 2 tells us that God placed the first human in the garden to “work it and take care of it” (v. 15). My father-in-law is a farmer, and he often tells me he farms for the sheer love of land and livestock. That’s beautiful, but it leaves lingering questions for those who don’t love their work. Why did God put us in a particular place with a particular assignment?
Genesis 1 gives us the answer. We’re made in God’s image to carefully steward the world He made (v. 26). Pagan stories of the way the world began reveal “gods” making humans to be their slaves. Genesis declares that the one true God made humans to be His representatives—to steward what He’d made on His behalf. May we reflect His wise and loving order into the world. Work is a call to cultivate God’s world for His glory.
Today’s Hymns:
This Is My Father’s World
He Knows My Name
Scripture to Respond:
Psalm 8:4-6 (NIV)
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?
5 You have made them[b] a little lower than the angels and crowned them[d] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their[e] feet:
1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (NIV)
1This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Reflection:
Being so lowly, we can even participate in the Father’s creation and the church founded by Him, what an honor!
What kind of job God has entrusted you? Are you a good and faithful steward, making good use of your talent and ability to complete His tasks with your best efforts?
Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for allowing me to take part in Your work on earth. Please help us to express Your love, wisdom and Your created order in our life and workplace.
Wong Wai Tung (Chief executive officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) & Sam Chow (Administrative officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) Translated by Esther Leung
