Photo credit: gardenofeaden.blogspot.com
(Part One)
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat….’” Genesis 2:15-17
What am I responsible for? What is the territory I am to own and occupy? That is the question that runs around in my head these days. It is there because I have just finished reading Boundaries by Cloud/Townsend. It’s a book that sat on our bookshelf for years and years, unread because I really didn’t have a problem with establishing boundaries. But as I read, I realized that boundaries are more than setting limits to keep something/someone out. Boundaries are parameters that define who I am and what I’m about.
With that in mind, I return to the first boundary established by God for mankind. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. It was a parameter that reminded Adam and Eve who they were (They were not God; see blog post “What is your tree?”) and what they were about (Their territory.) The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was God’s territory; the rest of the Garden was theirs. They were to own it and occupy it. Tend to it and cultivate it. The Garden was their responsibility. It was here they were to represent and reflect their Creator, doing so with all the creativity, intelligence and ability God had invested in them at creation.
But the serpent implied it wasn’t enough. And so, Adam and Eve lost their way; they ignored what was theirs to own and occupy and reached for that which didn’t belong to them.
I wonder if their problem isn’t my problem as well? That I, too, don’t own and occupy that which is mine but reach for that which doesn’t belong to me? Someone else’s fame or success or possessions or lifestyle or spirituality or gifting or blessing or personality or…. You name it and more-than-likely I want it.
Seeking to occupy territory that is not my own is a bad idea. It never works. I strive but don’t achieve. I hope but it doesn’t happen.
So, I ask myself: what am I responsible for? I know intuitively that it is me – who I am and what I’m about. It’s inclusive of my body, soul and spirit. I am ‘my garden’ and I am to own and occupy all of it. Take responsibility for that which is ‘me’.
To do that with integrity, I need to be settled with God’s creation of me: my capacities, strengths, weaknesses; in that acceptance lies my inner peace and my ability to own and occupy ‘my garden’.
But that is another truth, another Scripture, another blog. ‘Own and occupy’ is enough for now. We’ll continue the journey; but until then, I’d love your input and interaction.
Marcia
