Passion Fruit
and there was not a man to till the ground Genesis 2:5 (Hebrew World translation)
To till – There is no difference between sacred and secular. Better read that again since nearly everything about our culture is based on separating sacred and secular. We have church and state, spiritual and carnal, righteous and wicked and all the other dichotomies that break our world into segmented pieces. So how can the cultures of the ancient Near East, including Israel, view the world without a line between sacred and secular?
The answer is simple: God inhabits all. God is sovereign over all. God directs all. As soon as I create the artificial boundary between the things of God and the rest of the world, I imply that God is restricted to His realm but I live in both. This is the basis of idolatry. There is no difference between sacred and secular.
But, there is a big difference between how I choose to respond to this unity. The categories of righteous and wicked, obedient and disobedient, sacred and profane are real. They come about because human beings have chosen to ignore that fact that there is no difference between sacred and secular.
Let’s look at one simple example. Let’s consider what it means to work. The Hebrew word is avad. This verb also means “to serve, to develop, to cultivate, to perform some service and more specifically, to serve YHWH, to worship.” Its opposite is shabat, to rest, to cease. Avad is not the same as ‘atsav, to toil. Avad is part of God intended function for Man just as shabat is part of God’s intention for Man. Man without avad is less than human. There is no “retirement” in the service of the Lord. That dichotomy (work/retire) is another invention of a broken world. In the originally created world, avad is what men do.
Notice the connection between avad and the source and object of avodah (the noun “work”). Men are to work/serve the source of their being, the earth. Men came from the earth. They are ha-adam from the adamah. Their role is to act as caretakers and stewards of their own source. In the process of doing this, they serve the earth and worship the Lord. God created Man to avad (cultivate) and shamar (care for) the earth.
But most of us aren’t farmers anymore. Most of us are lucky if we have any dirt at all to care for. So how are we to fulfill this God-designed role? That answer is also easy: put your passion into redemptive work. Even the broken world retains remnants of the Garden. Every man and woman is hard-wired to release their passion upon an unredeemed earth. And when that passion is put into service for the King, it becomes a vital force for work/serve/ worship. To do what I was born to do and to glorify the Father and bless others at the same time is the true meaning of work. Anything less borders on ‘atsav.
Just remember, there is no difference between sacred and secular in the redeemed universe. Putting your passion into service for YHWH does not mean you must take up a sacred profession. Nor does it mean you must work in the church. Anywhere the earth needs cultivation and care-taking is exactly where your passions are to be employed. There are no boundaries preventing redemptive acts from infecting any part of the broken world. There are only righteous means to accomplish redemptive ends.
Today is a good day to evaluate your “work.” Is it avad or atsav? Is it caretaking of the source of your being, a delight to God and a blessing to others? Is it the domestication of your passion? Think about that while you cut the lawn, do the ironing or peel potatoes.
Topical Index: work, avad, ‘atsav, toil, passion, serve, worship, Genesis 2:5
Yes and no. There is (and always will be) a marked difference between what is sacred and what is profane. I would love to say “it’s all good” and I have often said this in this past- knowing the Sovereignty of G-d, and how He does work all things together (The Weaver) for the good of those who love ADONAI, but herein lies the rub- not all love the LORD as we do. – Why not? Why do “they” not love G-d? Why do “some” not love/serve/worship/avad ADONAI?
We are so blessed to have heard the gospel of Christ. Not only have we heard, but we made a conscious choice to respond in obedience. We have acted according to His instructions and have entered into a relationship with our Creator (and Sustainer) through faith in the shed blood of the Lamb,our Messiah upon the execution stake of Calvary. We are His. Not “all” are His.
We are the twice-born. We all belong to Him by right of creation (He formed/fashioned/made us), but only a few (a remnant) are His by right of Calvary. There are those who are “in Christ,” and there are those (both Jew and Gentile) who are not. There are only two types of people in this world- saved or lost.
If this sounds evangelistic, -let it be so. There are sheep and then there are goats. There is wheat and then there are tares. “Come out from among them and be ye separate” is G-d’s call to His own people, the ones who have been bought with a price.
Calvary’s blood is available to all, but not all have availed themselves of this “fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins..” But sinners plunged beneath this flood- lose all their guilty stains..” Again, (only) two types of people- “saints and aint’s.” Either we is or we ain’t. We must ask the question: “Do I belong to Him” Am I counted as one of His sheep? Am I numbered among the flock? Am I “in Christ” or without?
Now I will say this in reference to “no difference between the sacred and the secular”. This statement raises my hackles.. (whatever a hackle is!) “Full-time Christian worker”. I confess.. I cringe when I hear this spoken. I’m looking for the exit sign, but I “grin and bear it” and remain. Oh, I agree Paul.. “I would not have you ignorant, brethren..”- Next time.. just stab me with a knife and be done with it..- We (who are His) -are ALL (whether a pirate, a poet, a painter, a ‘preacher’ or a plumber) “full-time Christian workers.” G-d needs (and places) salt- everywhere. I am, you are, the only “Bible” someone may ever “read.” I am- you are- “ambassadors for Christ!” -How does that make you feel Mr. Plumber? We are His reps-everywhere- I repeat- everywhere we go. Whether here or there or anywhere- take the name of Jesus with you and remember “whose” you are. Brothers, may I say it, know it, show it- “this man” belongs to Him! I am His and He is mine- now it is up to me,- everywhere I go to “spread abroad” the honor, the glory, the praise that is due unto ADONAI. lol!- I’ve got a job to do “today!” There is much work (the work of redemptive restoration) to be done. Now let me see..- something about laborers going into the harvest that is ripe for the picking?..
For those who know Him, one final thought- Is serving Christ- a drudgery- a duty- or a delight? Can we say/confess along with our Master and dearest Friend- “ABBA,-I delight to do your will?” Empower me, enable me both to know and to do that which pleases You- that I may know and choose the straight and narrow path that leads unto life. This heart-prayer is offered only at Your invitation, and because Calvary made it possible for any man to pray at any time and anywhere. Amein.
Carl, that statement shouldn’t raise your hackles.
God tells us that we need to make the same distintions as He does. It’s BECAUSE of this division that all things are an act of worship for us. The “religious service” I perform doesn’t cease at “church”, It follows me to my employment, entertainment and even my home and bed. In all them “doings” I distinguish between good and evil, light and darkness, etc…. That makes EVERYTHING I do an act of worship.
The world at large makes no such distintions and therefore NOTHING they do (even their religious acts) are niether work OR worship, but rather vanity and ATSAV.
We have been called (potential) to be salt and light, and when our atsav becomes avad, we become witnesses of the power of the grace and mercy of God through Yeshua. It doesn’t mean we won’t struggle, only that in the end God will be justified in us and thereby we’ll share in His justice.
Just an observation, When God made ECHAD, or day one, did He accomplish that by joining things together or by dividing them!!?
Since I am in the status that society calls retired, I look at my income and while some call it retirement income, I refer to it as deferred income. I worked extra hard to have this deferred income. That work was toil so that now I can work which is serve. What I do now is not toil but a labor of serving and it is even fun. I like the definition of Avad. Avad is the fun part of serving the Lord and do think that he takes care of me when I am in this mode. It is a whole lot more of the time now than when I toiled for my earnings.
“As G-d’s fellow workers (sunergountes) we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.” (2 Corinthians 6.1)
“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.” (Exodus 34.21) Isn’t it interesting- work is commanded, but so also is rest! You shall labor and you shall rest.. Labor (work) is part of the program- His program. We were meant for movement and we have been taught to toil. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Ephesians 4.28). Our Bible has much to say about our laboring and much to say about our need of rest as well.
We are laborers together with G-d. We are pulling the plow together- and as He has said, “without Me- you can do nothing.. Yeshua said, “take my yoke upon you..”- This is not dressing for a party- this is dressing to plow the fields.. “We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the One who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.” (John 9.4)
Today is a good day to evaluate your “work.”
Hi Skip,
My first job today was to walk my dog Max over to Peets for a yummy cup of coffee.
Where Max likes to take a drink from the beautiful liitle Spanish-style fountain out front.
Then I had to come back home, wake up my kids, and study my daily Hebrew Word.
I’m such an old man now, whether I’m at work or home, it all seems like the same “play.”
Well Michael, just thank God that you can still “play” & it be “work.” I personally think they (work & play should be the same – at least in the since that there is passion in both)… ♥
jan
Hi Jan,
It’s funny that it’s almost harder for me to walk my dog to Peets (play) than to do my job 🙂
At my age, I guess I’m lucky that my job is a form of “intellectual” labor and interesting to do
But I agree that without passion nothing is much fun to do
I like to say that we all need to find the “Hom” in our Hombre
Hom is what the Indians call
Fire in the belly
Michael, what do you know about Indians/Red Men??? If you are old – then i am older (imagine that)?!?!?!
Speaking of Red Men – I just found the whole movie of “Hidalgo” on YouTube – here is the link on my flickr account – i know you like movies so well & i do too but seems there are not that many good ones any longer… http://www.flickr.com/photos/flygirljc/6015460529/in/photostream (be sure to scroll down to links)
Marshall Tucker band “fire on the mountain”… wasn’t it gold in them mountains in San Fran…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e71N7EhaGA&feature=related
there have been wildfires that shut down I35 not too far from where i live yesterday & a nice gentle rain all day & so much cooler…
thank You Lord Jesus…. ♥
“what do you know about Indians/Red Men???”
Hi Jan,
I know a litte bit about the Indians/Red Men; and Hombre, Geronimo, and The Last of the Mohicans are three of my favorite movies 🙂
However, I was referring to Baba, whom I think is Hindu, but know is a mystic.
I came across Baba’s focus on Hom (“fire in the belly”) when I was working for an engineering manager named Hom at Cisco some years ago.
But I was very attracted to Ghandi and the Eastern religions as a teenager and learned a lot from the Eastern religions over the years.
Thanks for the links above, I’ll check them out.
You can check Baba’s view of fire in the belly at the following link:
http://www.prahlad.org/Baba/talks/some_quotations_of_baba.htm
Michael, thanks for the link – i read through most of it – but i never really got that deep into eastern religion or practices – i read a book one time called “Ram Das” & that is as far as I got other than Kahlil Gibran. I just never got caught up in eastern/new age religion(s) – did yoga many many years ago.
After rededicating my life to Christ in 1976 (was saved & baptized when i was 9 years of age) & my “relationship” began with Him – i just never was much interested in eastern/new age religion.
How does this eastern religion work in your life today compared to being a follower of Jesus Christ???
The Last of the Mohicans is a beautiful movie/music score & Legends of the Fall is also one of my favorites along with Out of Africa…
jan
Amein and Amein. Thank you Skip for putting this in the correct perspective.
Christina
I love the word ‘avad’. Work, serve or worship. I can see that it turns out to be an attitude about what you are doing. I used to think it was doing your God given passion, which is still true, but I think that no matter what we do if we have the right attitude, then whatever we do it can and will be blessed. Sometimes we just have to clean out the horse stalls.
I wonder about Cain’s offering to the Lord. Was he really supposed to be a farmer like his father? Did Adam and Eve put on their boy the expectation of being the dutiful son following in his father’s footsteps? Look what Cain did when he left Eden – he built a city. Was he really suppose to be a farmer or a builder and an architect? Just a question.
How about one other consideration about Cain. He inherited a cursed land full of weeds and brambles. His father Adam had the pleasure of tilling the ground that was fruitful. Cain didn’t have that luxury. Do you think that maybe Cain cursed his crops and the ground? Not intentionally, but just in passing – “dog gone this earth and these crops, why aren’t they as good as dads”? etc.
What if the Lord rejected Cain’s offering because just maybe there were curses attached to what he offered and the Lord couldn’t accept his offering because of those curses? ??? Just a thought.
Abel offered animals that he was close to and probably even named. As a farmer you never name an animal, but in Abel’s case being the son who didn’t want to be a farmer like his dad, maybe because it was too much work, Abel took the easy way out and since he may not have been accepted into the family like Cain was, he talked to his animals and treated them like pets. If so, then when it came time to make an offering to the Lord, Abel may have also shed true tears sacrificing his friends to the Lord.
Just speculation, but worth the look because somehow Cain’s offering wasn’t as good as Abel’s.