In the beginning God put Adam in the garden of Eden to ‘cultivate’ and ‘keep’ it (Gen. 2:15).
At its core, this was a commission for mankind to build a culture…
And required developing the garden while protecting it from threats.
Ever since this start, God’s commission to create a culture with Him has remained.
It has never been withdrawn.
It’s just gotten bigger, to include the whole world.
Many of our forerunners in the faith understood and applied this.
And so many gains over the centuries — in law, education, productivity, humans rights, etc. — came about because of it.
Yet, having lost a vision for dominion… as well as the fear of the Lord… our culture is degenerating.
Many believers see this decline and assume it’s a sign of the times, indicating the soon return of Jesus.
But I’m more inclined to think current conditions just show we haven’t been doing our job.
And what’s really needed is a recovery of heart and effort to develop and protect our communities, states and nations for good and against evil.
Unfortunately, the woes of our culture reflect a failure of God’s people to live out their callings in light of God’s kingdom…
As we’ve lost sight of His original culture-building mandate.
Yet there is hope…
Because in the death and resurrection of Christ there is always the promise of renewal.
What does the Lord have for you to cultivate and keep today?
