Genesis 2:8. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Put.
The word is as small in Hebrew as it is in English – sum. I’s a little word that invokes a big idea, that of appointment or purpose. We “put” things in their proper place. Or we “put” people into the role or responsibility where they can make the most difference.
As we’ve already seen from Genesis 1, God did not create us randomly, without purpose. He didn’t make us on a whim to be his little play things. He made us to image him, then he put us exactly where he wanted us, in a very specific place – a garden in Eden.
All throughout the Old Testament, God puts (sum) things in their place: rulers are placed (sum) on their thrones, justice is established (sum), gifts of mercy are given (sum), even God’s face is set (sum) upon his people. God always has and always will put everything exactly where he wants and needs it to be in order to accomplish his will.
To be put is to be given a specific purpose in a specific time and place. Where has God put you? What is your garden? Make no mistake you are not in the place you are randomly. God has placed you there as willfully as he placed Adam in the garden in Eden. Consider how the Apostle Paul explained God’s sovereign “putting” of mankind to the Athenians:
Acts 17:26-27. 26And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
Where has God put you? Where has he settled you? What is your garden? Are you content there? Or are you constantly looking for greener grass?
When God put the first man in a geographic location, it was the perfect place for him. It literally was the Paradise (garden) of Pleasure (Eden). God not only put mankind in a position to be successful at their gardening, but he put them in a place where they would find pleasure in their task. He truly put them in a place where they would abound in intimacy and impact. A place of shalom, flourishing, peace, and joy.
Do you believe that God has put you in the perfect place for you? Of course, because of the fall, the garden is literally no more. But the spiritual garden of delights is alive in us. You see, it wasn’t the physical space that made it a paradise of pleasure; it was the presence of God. The Tree of Life growing at the center of the garden. The tree, that if they had eaten from it in faith, would have preserved their life with God forever.
Genesis 2:9. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden.
To live is Christ means nothing about where you are in life is a mistake. We have been put by God where we are for our good and his glory. Wherever God has put you, the tree of his life is at the center – Christ in you. Wherever you are, that is your Garden of Eden. Your little paradise of pleasure in the middle of a world that is “without form and void.” Your corner of the Kingdom to work and keep (2:15), spreading the life of Christ until he comes again.
Questions: Are you content with where God has put you? Do you see it as your garden with the Tree of Life at the center? How might you find shalom today in the garden God has planted you in?
To Live is Christ 