Human life can become complex with its obligations both written and unwritten. Yet, I believe the Creator’s original design intended a simple way of life centering on your ability to worship from HIS chosen purpose. One can easily discern the original purpose in Scriptures before the fall of man. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15 KJV) From this verse, notice the simplicity of God’s original design.
The Master Designer, God created the ultimate garden with an array of flowers, bushes, and trees, which produced all kind of fruits both edible and nonedible. Just imagine in one location, you could see all types of fruit, vegetables, and nuts. For instance, this paradise had plenty of fruit-bearing trees like oranges, bananas, apple, figs, and tangerine. Also, it contained nuts-producing trees of all kinds like pecans, almonds, walnuts, as wells as edible vegetables – carrots, tomatoes, spinach, collards, etc. Here, the Master Designer created man in HIS image and placed him, an intelligent being like HIM for the sole reason to cultivate and nurture this paradise. Therefore, the Garden of Eden provided the ultimate worship center as man performed his only specified task of maintaining and cultivating these plants and trees for producing fruit. In this garden, man found harmony with meaning as he performed this specified purpose “to dress and to keep it.”
Today, we perish in this complexity of life when we move from our simple purpose to our ego driven-passions. Similarly, the tempter (Lucifer) turns us away from God by feeding our ego of selfishness. When you observe the scenario with humankind and the serpent (Lucifer) via the conversation with Eve. You will notice the shifting from simple to complexity purposed by Lucifer. “The serpent said to the woman, ‘Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.’” (Genesis 3: 4-5) Planting such a thought in ones’ minds quickly moves you away from cultivating HIS purpose to desiring your own garden. Likewise, the tempter used this same technique with the Savior. In Matthew 4:3, “The tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.’” If you analyze the tempter’s routine, you will notice a similar pattern with each person he entices. The tempter reminds you of self-fulfilling outcome, which entices you toward selfish desires instead of God’s will. In other words, the tempter wants you to move from dependence on God to independence from God. While Adam cultivated the Garden of Eden, the tempter used the terms “you will be like divine beings” in other words you will have no need for God for you will become God. Likewise, the tempter used the same tantalizing words with Jesus, “If you are the Son of God.” How often do we feel unfulfilled from lack of purpose or we feel our job seems meaningless because we have yet to prove ourselves or to establish who we are among others. Again, the tempter uses ego driven-passions to move us from God’s dependence to our independence while thinking we can control the outcome if we do this or that.
Recognition of our dependence on God becomes the key that will open the simplicity of harmony and peace that awaits us. We must realize our true purpose of being ourselves and fulfilling that simple task of cultivating the work where God puts us right now, instead of where we want to go. Whether you are a student, employee, or retiree, you must execute this simple purpose to dress and keep the fruit of your life pleasing before God so ultimately you will remain as God intended – sons of God.
