The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed (Genesis 2:8 ESVUK)
A great outlet for my Dad when he lived in England was his allotment. An allotment is a piece of land among a set of lands that could be leased out to residents, and on it they could cultivate the soil to plant and produce whatever the ground was suitable for. My Dad would find great contentment going there to plant and cultivate whatever he wanted to. It was his place of peace. It was his place of fulfilment. It was no bother to him that his children didn’t follow him to the allotment. It was no bother to him that his wife didn’t follow him to the allotment. I got the impression that it was something of a relief that whatever he did at home didn’t follow him to his allotment. This was his space where he could be diligent in doing what brought him pleasure, and that happened to be the joy he had in planting, cultivating and bringing back produce from the ground. He never made a big deal about it. I certainly took for granted the occasional produce that I would consume. It didn’t bother my Dad that we took it for granted. It was enough for him to produce diligently.
Long before my Dad was born, there was another Father who took great pleasure in seeing an allotment of land be cared for. This Father, however, set up the garden so that his son could learn how to have dominion and be a good manager. What’s fascinating about this reading is how He created man outside the garden, set up the garden and then placed man in the garden with the mandate on what to do to make the most of the allotted area. That is to say, God made man, God made the garden, God made the path and set the instruction all for man to flourish in doing what he was made to do in the allotted area to do it. That responsibility was to ensure the land was cultivated, allowing for the production of fruit that could be a blessing to him and others. That role required obedience and diligence.
There’s something about all that – both my Dad and what my heavenly Father did – that means more to me now than it ever has. I recall the days before I got married, when my wife-to-be and I attended a Christian conference, where we sat in to hear someone talk about the vital ingredients for a successful marriage. The man spoke about what it means to be a man and how important it is for him to recognise that his identity is only fulfilled when he first and foremost recognises that he is a child of God. From that recognition, it followed that God places man in His presence to learn from Him, worship Him alone, and understand what it means to fulfil the purpose for which man was created – to work. Productive, profitable, and constructive work based on following the Father’s instructions and being diligent in carrying them out. Discovering these realities does not come immediately – especially to men whose identities have been conditioned by so much that has little to nothing to do with what pleases their heavenly Father. So a journey is required to leave the land of darkness and enter the place of light, where truth is revealed, and an understanding of our true identity can work itself out in following instructions diligently.
There is a very real sense in which if a man does not follow that order and rely first and foremost on His heavenly Father, everything else is substandard. Everything else falls short of truly understanding the purpose of the man. The tragedy of this is that discovering the fullness of life offered to those who follow the only begotten Son of the Father will never be accomplished until we return to that first point. Return to the Father and seek His guidance on what He wants us to do for work, and how it will lead to something productive and constructive, both physically and beyond. The work, as well, has to be that sense of the response to God’s call on the gifts, abilities and circumstances that He places in us.
There are seasons where it’s worth returning to God to ensure you’re still where He has deliberately placed you to be and you’re about the work he’s called you to do obediently and diligently. This is such a season for me. I may not have the same interest in allotments as my Dad, but I share his desire to be a diligent steward and produce goods not just for my family, but for others who have yet to know the heavenly Father.
Working out the work for this season …
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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