We are created in His image
(Gen 1:27 NIV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
We are created in God’ image. Do our lives reflect that? When others see us, do they give glory to God?
(Mat 5:16 NIV) In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Do we try to live our lives above reproach from others, following the example of Jesus?
(John 8:46 NIV) Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?
(1 Tim 3:2 NIV) Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
We are given boundaries to protect us
(Gen 2:16-17 NIV) And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; {17} but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Adam was warned not to eat of the tree of knowledge. However, he was free to eat from any tree other than this.
(Gen 1:29 NIV) Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
People find the Christian life so restrictive because we are told to avoid many things. But we fail to see that we are free to do many more things – things that are wholesome. Let us not concentrate on things we are told not to do and fail to remember the many things that we can do and are given to enjoy.
God had placed boundaries in Adam’s life to protect him. Because when he trespassed on the boundaries, he experienced separation from God.
We must not think that God had placed boundaries in our lives to restrict our enjoyment of it. No, boundaries are placed so that we can avoid the pitfalls of life.
It is like a parent who prohibits his children to come near the hot iron or the boiling kettle. In the eyes of the children, their parent seems to restrict them from “fun things”. But we adults know that those things are dangerous.
Likewise, God placed boundaries in our lives not to restrict our enjoyment but to give us full enjoyment by avoiding the pitfalls.
God placed us in our “garden or Eden” for us to enjoy
(Gen 2:8-9 NIV) Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. {9} And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground–trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food…
God placed man in the Garden of Eden and made all kinds of trees to grow in the garden so that man can enjoy.
God wants you to enjoy the place that He has placed you in. It may be your family, work or ministry. If you are not enjoying it for some reason, you have to do something about it. One thing we can do is to take authority over the situation.
When God created man, He also gave him dominion over the earth. That includes dominion over the Garden of Eden.
(Gen 1:26 NIV) Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
When we are not enjoying the “garden of Eden” that we are placed in, we need to exercise our spiritual authority over it. Sometimes the devil wrecks havoc on our work, family, and ministry and we need to bind his work of destruction.
More on spiritual authority
God placed us in our “garden of Eden” for us to cultivate
(Gen 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.
Our “garden of Eden” is not there just for our enjoyment; God intends for us to cultivate and take care of it.
Are we cultivating our workplace? Do we act as the salt and light in our workplace and telling people about Jesus?
Are we cultivating our family? The husband should establish his spiritual headship over the house and lead the family into growing their relationship with God. Parents should lead their children into a closer walk with God.
Are we cultivating our ministry? Do we work hard at it so that it will grow into fruitfulness?
Not only was Adam asked to work on the Garden of Eden, he was also asked to take care of it.
Before the fall of man, that would have been an easy task as everything was in good condition. But after the fall, the ground was cursed and began to produce thorns.
(Gen 3:17-18 NIV) To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. {18} It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
Likewise our “garden of Eden” is not free from “thorns”. We need to take care of it that these thorns do not cause our “garden” to deteriorate.
Are “thorns” cropping up in our work, family and ministry? Do not ignore them or they will destroy the garden. Ask God for wisdom and so something about them.Likewise our “garden of Eden” is not free from “thorns”. We need to take care of it that these thorns do not cause our “garden” to deteriorate.
Are “thorns” cropping up in our work, family and ministry? Do not ignore them or they will destroy the garden. Ask God for wisdom and so something about them.Likewise our “garden of Eden” is not free from “thorns”. We need to take care of it that these thorns do not cause our “garden” to deteriorate.
Are “thorns” cropping up in our work, family and ministry? Do not ignore them or they will destroy the garden. Ask God for wisdom and so something about them.Likewise our “garden of Eden” is not free from “thorns”. We need to take care of it that these thorns do not cause our “garden” to deteriorate.
Are “thorns” cropping up in our work, family and ministry? Do not ignore them or they will destroy the garden. Ask God for wisdom and so something about them.