Chapter 1 from “Reasonable Service”
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I wrote this question as a paper once. It seemed reasonable to me to ask ministers of the gospel what they thought was reasonable service, and I approached the question that way: what should be considered reasonable service for those who are called to or wanted to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. After my research, I came up with a paper I thought really touched on and spoke to the subject. I received a good grade and compliment for my paper. I was satisfied with the work I did then.
I returned to the paper from time to time. The information still seemed relevant to me. I strived to be of service to God, to bless Him and His kingdom. I wanted, very strongly, to be one of those ‘ministers of the gospel,’ because it spoke to something inside me. But instead, I kept finding success in the world of business administration and operations. I even said at one point, “If I can’t feed the sheep, I’ll feed the shepherds” and I found ways to bless those who were in full-time ministry.
Then one day while in a particularly unhappy mood because I was not ‘in ministry,’ the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Are you not in ministry? Are these employees and customers not my children? Pastor them.”
That was eye opening.
Without being overtly Christian – even though they all knew I was, I ministered to my employees and took care of my customers as God’s children, His Church. It was challenging. Many of my co-workers, direct report employees, and customers were not Christians nor did they have any intention of becoming one. Even worse were those who said they were ‘Christians’ but were not good examples of who Christ was or is; some in active opposition to me. It was challenging and caused me to pray often.
When I complained to God in the difficult moments, and complain I did, with great patience and loving kindness He reminded me He died for them, too. He forgave them, too. And He suffered long for them just like He suffered long for me. Could I not do likewise if I was to be like Him and love them like He loved them? Pouring Himself out unto the last; bearing up the shame of the cross and our sin upon it.
More than once my heart broke. I was not enough like Him. In bitter tears, I wept for me.
But, His goodness and mercies are everlasting! He would show me His love for them and I found myself agreeing with Jesus, “Lord, forgive them. They do not know what they do.” And sometimes, “Lord! That one has no clue! Bless them out of their stupidity!”
What I found to be happening was I began to walk with God. Not out of religion or religious zeal or purpose. I wanted to know the God of my salvation, who endured the Cross for me, yet still forgives me. Him. I wanted to know Him because He is and He always has loved me, even when I did not think I was lovable or loved by anyone or anything. He was there; right there with me wherever I went. And, I went some places I should not have taken Him.
It was in the midst of these challenges in life and desire for ministry that He began to have me take another look at the life of Man.
Adam, the first Man, was made in the image and likeness of God. His body was formed out of the dirt and God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils. Then, Adam became a living being[1]. Adam, the living being, was made in the image and likeness, or form, of God. God made Adam a ‘dirt suit’ for walking around Earth, but Adam was a living being like God.
Now God created the heavens and the Earth and all that is in it[2]. In all the Earth, God settled on a place where He would put those things that gave Him pleasure. He called that place Eden[3], a pleasurable place. In the midst of Eden, God planted a garden, and there He placed Man.
How many times have I quickly read past that portion of the Bible and not really reflected on it? Too many to count. Stopping to re-think and meditate on Adam and his early life, I gained a better idea of just how highly God thinks of Man. Firstly, Man was made in the image and likeness of God. Man was to be like God. Wow! Secondly, God created all of creation and said it was good, then He makes a place with all the stuff He really likes. He does and calls it Eden – a pleasurable place[4]. Then, God makes a garden – a place that is designed with all the good stuff and made even more special to Himself. Then, God puts Man in the midst of that place that is the best of the best and brings God pleasure. And that is where God puts Man.
God thinks so highly of Man that He puts Man in the very best that God has. God then saw all that He did and said it was “very good[5].”
God put Man in the place that is very pleasurable to God then God hands it over to Man to tend and cultivate it[6]; to have dominion over it, to subdue it and have rule over it; to make it fruitful; to multiply it[7].
The Garden was Man’s to manage on behalf of God and with God. This was God’s reasonable expectation of service that He and Man should partner in creation.
God created every animal and brought them to Man, and Adam named them. Whatever Adam named them that was what they were called[8].
This was God’s reasonable expectation of service: share with Him in creation and walk together with Him in the cool of the day[9]. But, Man fell. Adam sinned. Adam separated himself from God. What now? It is the same.
In the judgment of Adam in Genesis 3, God tells Adam things have changed. The ground is cursed for Adam’s sake. In sorrow, he will eat of it for the rest of his life. The ground will bring up thorns and thistles for him. He will eat herbs of the field he works. He will have to sweat to make his bread.
God did not take away the job description. God said it was to be more difficult because Adam sinned.
Our starting place in reasonable service must be in realizing we are created in the image and likeness of God. We are His children. And like Adam, we are separated from Him by sin.
Our reasonable service must begin with letting go of everything we thought we knew about God, knew about who we are, who we imagined we are, or deceived ourselves into believing who we are. According to God, you start out as His children separated from Him by sin, yet you still have His mandate to tend, dominate, rule, prosper, and multiply His creation. It is extremely difficult on our own – in fact it is impossible; and made all the more impossible by our own selfishness or selfish family members who do not know who or why they are.
Our reasonable service is to walk with God and partner with Him in creation.
Life is only possible when we partner with God in this life. We have been made in His image and likeness. We are called to be like Him. We are called to take care of, manage and prosper this Earth and all that is in it. We are not to do this alone, or just with the strength of Man, the strength of ourselves. We are to do this with God. Adam’s failure was in trying to solve a big question with just his own counsel and wisdom.
Genesis 3 observes that the entire time that Eve (ishah, the female Man[10]) was in conversation with the serpent and misquoting what God said Man was to do and not do with that tree, Adam was right there with her. The passage says she saw that it was good for food and to make one wise. She ate of the fruit and gave some to her husband who was right there with her[11].
Adam failed to confer with God, failed to lead, failed to correct Eve’s misunderstanding, failed to dominate and subdue the serpent, failed to set and abide by the rules regarding the tree, and separated his will from God by doing what God said would kill him. Adam willfully chose to separate himself from God, and now he knew the difference of good and evil. Good is to obey the will of God and trust Him. Evil is to do what is right in your own sight, in your own wisdom, for your own satisfaction, with no thought of the consequences.
From being in a place where all the goodness of God was available all of the time to being in the place where the only things you get are what you do to get them. This is where Adam now found himself. It was for Adam’s sake that the ground was cursed. Adam learned over the rest of his life that the goodness of God is preferable to selfish lust.
So, whatsoever you find in your hands to do, do them with all your might and as unto the Lord[12]. Focus in on partnering with God, and guard your heart to keep a right relationship with God.
Now that is our basic job description; as given to Adam. We, as his inheritors, were cursed, but for those who have received Jesus as our anointed salvation are new creations and adopted into His family. There is now no separation between God and Man – for those who have accepted the Cross of Christ and believed.
The price of separation from God was paid in the life and death of Jesus Christ at the cross. To this extremely high price paid for our separation, our sin, we should add a bond debt of service, but we do not. Jesus gave His act to us as His gift of salvation that we might miss the judgment of sin that is surely coming. He loves us just that much.
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[1] Genesis 2.7
[2] Genesis 1-2
[3] Genesis 2.8; Eden (Strong’s 5731), delight self, delicate, soft,
[4] Strong’s H5731 ‘eden’ – pleasure; delicate, delight
[5] Genesis 1.31
[6] Genesis 2.15
[7] Genesis 1.26, 28
[8] Genesis 2.19-20
[9] Genesis 3.8
[10] Genesis 2.23, Strong’s H802 ‘ishshah’- female
[11] Genesis 3.6
[12] Ecclesiastes 9.10; Colossians 3.17
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