While growth is good, it isn’t an end to itself, but the result of a life spent in the dirt, seeding and sowing. The biblical story begins in the dirt of Eden’s garden and ends in the garden city of God’s kingdom. God has designed us to live and work in the garden, tending and tilling. We’re made of dirt and for dirt. This combination of keeping and creating is a right way of understanding Creation and our work within it. Just as the purpose of fruit Is both joyous feasting and regenerative planting, our purpose is to both enjoy God’s gifts and nurture the presence of Jesus in the world.
February 13, 2022The word that gives us humanity is the word that gives us earth. We're made of dirt. But that doesn’t mean we are worthless; rather, we are both part of creation and God’s greatest creation. The garden - the world - is God’s and it is good. Our understanding of creation has direct bearing on how we treat the world today. Though marred by sin, the world we inhabit is God’s, and it is worth our work.
|
February 20, 2022Our lofty theological word “incarnation” really just means to be “of the flesh”. It is simply a way of saying, God got down in the dirt to be with us. God invites us to be with him in the garden, living in a full, four-season rhythm of tending and tilling. Jesus is God “in the dirt,” coming to give us full life - body, mind and soul; spring, summer and fall; joy, sadness and pain.
|
February 27, 2022
Our understanding of fruit has become detached from the garden. Like Cain in Genesis 4, we’re removed from the soil. We act like the purpose of fruit is consumption. As disciples of Jesus, we’re called to cultivate “fruits of the Spirit” - but the purpose of God’s fruit in us isn’t just to eat, but also to till new soil with the good news of Jesus Christ. In fact, it is the measure of untilled land which marks the inauguration of God’s kingdom. How dirty are your hands?