Daily Bread

Then the Lord God said, “See, the humans have become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now they might reach out their hands and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever” — therefore the Lord God sent them forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which they were taken. He drove out the humans, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

The two creation accounts in Genesis are not literal but allegorical — drawing on other ancient creation accounts. In them, the two adults Adam (meaning earth) and Eve (meaning life) represent humanity. Despite being symbolic in description, the accounts are full of theological importance and are significant for us today.

The creation accounts in Genesis are theological affirmations that there is one God, and that at the beginning, heaven and earth fully overlapped — that God and humans walked together. It is significant that this 'Eden' (delight) is symbolised by a garden.

Creation, by its very nature, is about bringing order out of chaos, and if you think about it, gardens are places where humans have brought order out of the chaos of wilderness. In gardens we tame plants — we trim them, mow them, and train them to become a garden — and humans, being created in the image of God, are called to bring order out of the chaos of creation as co-creators with God. And, of course, the garden of Eden is not a literal garden but represents our calling in the world in which we live.

We have God-given creativity and God-given free-will to use our creativity for good or for bad, and this creativity and free-will distinguishes us from the rest of creation. Every positive act of creativity works towards a time when heaven and earth will once again overlap, and no act of creation that we undertake is wasted.

Sometimes we may feel as if we lack meaning or purpose in our lives, and yet, within our very being lies the power to be creative — to bring order out of chaos in the world — the chaos of hurt, broken relationships, damage to the environment, and so on. Every time you listen to someone, accept someone, love someone, feed someone, or encourage someone, you are using your creativity for good.

Never stop being creative, because you are the very image of a creative God.

Holy God
Thank you for creating
me in your image
and thank you for my creativity.
May I use my creativity
to make a difference in the world
and in the lives of all I meet,
to bring order out of chaos
and to build your garden of delight
on earth as it is in heaven.