“God’s Garden—and We Get to Help!”
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (English Standard Version)
Commenting on Genesis 2:15, the daily meditation from Loyola Press, today’s “3-Minute Retreat” master wrote the following:
“When we look at the wonder of creation, it is apparent that God is a good gardener. From the will of God, the earth brings forth abundant and varied forms of life. In this story from Genesis, we are invited into the garden and given the task of caring for it. Taking care of creation is a moral obligation for us. Our care for plants, animals, and one another reflects our cooperation with God’s plan.” (From https://www.loyolapress.com/retreats/caring-for-gods-garden-start-retreat, accessed 05-24-2019)
Now, I should know everything there is to know about Genesis 2-3. After all, I spent ten years of my life studying this passage from the Bible, while pursuing a graduate degree. However, even simple insights can blindside me.
Based on this 3-minute retreat, it suddenly occurred to me that, even though the man and woman messed up big time and ate of the one tree that God had put off-limits to them, and even though they were punished and driven out of the garden, the charge to tend the garden was never rescinded. In other words, humankind is no longer in the Garden of Eden, but that doesn’t mean that we are not responsible for tilling the soil outside the garden. In fact, that very phrase (“to till the soil”) occurs after God had confronted the man and woman and passed judgment on them. The story says, “therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.” (Genesis 3:23, English Standard Version)
I grew up on a two-hundred acre farm, and we had a huge garden. Every year, my mom and dad would do the same dance in September. “We don’t need such a big garden!” And they didn’t. They had green beans canned from years before the current crop, still unused.
But over the winter, their memory faded along with the fading leaves. Every spring, Dad would say to Mom, “How much of the garden do you want me to till up?” And Mom would reply, “Oh, I guess you can plow up the whole thing. We don’t have to plant it all.” After a few years of this same pattern, I realized that I was going to be hoeing just as much this summer as I had hoed last summer.
But. you know what I think? I think that Mom and Dad realized that they were doing what God wanted them to do. They were participating in something very primal, but also something very theological. They were helping in God’s garden.
And I got to help too!
Go out and plant or tend something today! Maybe it’s a garden, or a flower, or a relationship. But go out and plant something or tend something today!
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