在一條碎石路的盡頭，一片泥濘的空曠土地上，我們著手建造我們的房子。為了配合奧勒岡山腳下的美景，我們也打算種些花草樹木。當我拿出園藝工具準備動工時，想到了起初上帝為人類所造的第一座花園，那時「野地還沒有草木，田間的菜蔬還沒有長起來，……也沒有人耕地」（創世記2章5節）。

創世記第1章記載上帝創造宇宙萬物，並且一再重申上帝看這些受造物是「好的」或「甚好」（4、10、12、18、21、25、31節）。但創造的故事並未結束，上帝還要亞當和夏娃來治理這地，管理上帝所造的萬物（28節）。上帝不是讓他們住在一成不變的樂園裡，而是住在需要管理和建設的地方。

從一開始，上帝就邀請人類與祂同工。不僅是在伊甸園，當我們信靠基督成為「新造的人」時，也是如此（哥林多後書5章17節）。在得救之後，我們並沒有變成完美。正如使徒保羅所說：「不要效法這個世界」（羅馬書12章2節）。當我們追求活出討上帝喜悅的生命時，上帝會在我們心中動工，使我們能「效法祂兒子的模樣」（8章29節）。

不論是管理這個世界，或管理我們在基督裡的新生命，上帝已經賜給你我一份需要耕耘的禮物。

When we built our home, it stood on little more than a muddy, empty lot at the end of a gravel road. We needed grass, trees, and shrubs to match the surrounding Oregon foothills. As I got out my lawn tools and set to work, I thought of the first garden waiting for humans: “No shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, . . . and there was no one to work the ground” (Genesis 2:5).

The creation account in Genesis 1 repeats God’s assessment of creation: it “was good” or “very good” (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). However, it wasn’t complete. Adam and Eve needed to cultivate the ground—to exercise stewardship of God’s creation (v. 28). They weren’t meant to live in an unchanging paradise but one that needed care and development.

Since the beginning, God has been inviting humans to partner with Him in His creation. He did it in the garden of Eden, and He does it with “the new creation” He makes of us when we put our faith in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Upon salvation, we’re not made perfect. As the apostle Paul says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). God works in us as we pursue a life pleasing to Him, “conformed to the image of his Son” (8:29).

Whether it’s caring for the earth or caring for our new life in Christ, God has given us a gift we need to cultivate.