Cultivating God’s World

<p>&ldquo;Dad, why do you have to go to work?&rdquo; The question from my young daughter was motivated by her desire to play with me. I would have preferred to skip work and spend time with her, but there was a growing list of things at work that required my attention. The question, nevertheless, is a good one. Why <em>do</em> we work? Is it simply to provide for ourselves and for the people we love? What about labor that&rsquo;s unpaid&mdash;why do we do that? </p> <p>Genesis 2 tells us that God placed the first human in the garden to &ldquo;work it and take care of it&rdquo; (v. 15). My father-in-law is a farmer, and he often tells me that he farms for the sheer love of land and livestock. That&rsquo;s beautiful, but it leaves lingering questions for those who don&rsquo;t love their work. Why did God put us in a particular place with a particular assignment?</p> <p>Genesis 1 gives us the answer. We&rsquo;re made in God&rsquo;s image to carefully steward the world He made. Pagan stories of the way the world began reveal &ldquo;gods&rdquo; making humans to be their slaves. Genesis declares that the one true God made humans to be His representatives&mdash; to steward what He&rsquo;d made on His behalf . May we reflect His wise and loving order into the world. Work is a call to cultivate God&rsquo;s world for His glory.</p>