Who We Are

Wonderful story (H/T Daily Dish) of a man and a gorilla:



In our Sunday School class I we've been talking through N.T. Wright's book After You Believe. In Chapter 3 of the book Wright tries to offer a vision of what we, as humans, were made for. What is the telos of our life? What will the New Creation be like and what will we do there?

When I was growing up I was told that heaven would be one, long worship service. And I just shivered. Now, I like singing. But for eternity? Surely there must be some job for us? Some work? Some task? Right?

Wright suggests that the answers to these questions go back the beginning, to the purpose we were created for in the first place:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so...

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

According to Wright, the New Creation is Eden Restored and we are to "work it and take care of it." And a part of that work is caring for the fish, the birds, the plants, and every living creature. We are, at root, gardeners and caretakers. This is what we were born to do. This is who we are.

So when I think of Damian and Kwibi, of my family and Bandit, of the art of Andy Goldsworthy, or as I look at my yard right now--sweating over this keyboard having just finished mowing, raking and edging--I think that heaven is actually going to be a lot of fun. There will be work to do. Work that I'm preparing for. And work that has already started.

My rest is over. Have a blessed Lord's Day. Back to the yardwork. More practice for Eden.