And the LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
 

       And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; 
       the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

       Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it (Genesis 2:8, 9, 15).
 

 

The Lord carefully and wonderfully prepared a perfect environment for man. He created man and He knew exactly what would be best for him, and what he would enjoy. He also created man to cultivate his own environment, and this required labor. Some have mistakenly believed that labor was a part of the curse, but man labored in the Garden before the fall. Labor was not a part of the curse; "toil" was the curse. Toil is different from labor. To toil is to accomplish only with hard and painful labor. Toil implies the opposition of the creation instead of its cooperation.

 

Man was created for fellowship with God, and for cultivating the earth. Therefore, man was also created to labor, and meaningful labor is essential for the well-being and fulfillment of man. The key word here is "meaningful." The Lord intended for us to receive a deep satisfaction from our labors. Without meaningful accomplishment in our lives, there will be another void that leaves us empty and disoriented. It is also fundamental that every person find meaningful labor.

 

There are two Hebrew words translated into the one English word "cultivate" in this chapter. They are `bad (aw-bad'), which means "to serve, till," and shaman (shaw-mar'), which means to "hedge about, guard, protect." These are both inherent characteristics of man. We read previously in Genesis 2:5, "Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth; and there was no man to cultivate the ground." The Lord had even left part of His planned creation for man to help bring forth.

 

It is a part of our very nature to take what the Lord has provided for us, and add our own touch to it. This may even seem sacrilegious to some, but not when we understand that the Lord left this for man to do so that man could express the creative nature that He had put in him. God wanted man's touch in the Garden. He wanted man to own it in his heart so that he would be compelled to keep and protect it. Of course, this was to be done with God, but the Lord wanted man to contribute.

 

Our nature is to look for ways to add our own touch to things, to improve them, and to be protective of domains with which we are entrusted. As with all of our gifts and characteristics, if they are not used rightly, they will be used wrongly. If they are not used constructively, they will be used destructively. Even so, man was created to be creative, which is a basic part of the image of God that we have been given.

 

Man is called to rest in God, but we must also labor with God. In this labor, we must find what He created us to do. We are told in Ephesians 1:4 that, "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love." We were foreknown and chosen by God before the world was even created. The God who is so particular and specific also knew what He created us for. We each have a very specific job to do—a very specific calling. We will never know a true peace and fulfillment in our hearts until we are doing our callings.

 

How do we know what our calling is? This may be to oversimplify it a little, but we find out in the last two words of Ephesians 1:4 "In love." Because we were created with our purpose in mind, what we are called to do will also be what we love to do the most. We are told in John 7:38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" Living waters can only come from our hearts, that which is our deepest love.

 

God has created us and called us to do the deepest desire of our hearts. However, most people are so burdened and bound by other people's expectations and yokes that it takes complete renewing of their minds before they begin to discern the yoke that God has called them to carry. Even so, we must pursue this quest and not give up until we are living in peace and fulfillment which can only come when we know we are doing what we were created to do.