God chose to reveal how man was banished, for in these last times he has called him back to his first state.

  - Augustine Hibernicus, On the Miracles of Holy Scriptures (Irish, 7th century)

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.

  - Genesis 2.15

I wonder how many of us think of our salvation in terms of being restored to mankind's original state.

We think of ourselves as forgiven, cleansed, and on our way to heaven. But what about all that interim time? Why are we still here? What are we supposed to be, and to be doing?

Augustine Hibernicus has it right: God has restored us to our original condition of blessedness in His sight. We are free and forgiven in Jesus Christ. Now He has work for us to do, and that relates to cultivating His goodness, beauty, and truth in every area of our lives.

In the Garden Adam and Eve were put to work. God gave into their care a "good" creation (see Genesis 1.31) which He expected them to enlarge and improve. They were to work with their minds and bodies, exercising brains and brawn to develop the goodness of the Lord and to bring the order of a divine economy to bear on all created things.

No sin barred their fellowship with God. They were free to listen to His instructions and serve Him with joy. They were blessed with everything they needed in order to obey Him, and we have been blessed as well. Working together they would enlarge the population of God's people, order and organize His creatures, bring His Garden to greater fruitfulness and productivity, and, ultimately, expand the borders of the Garden until they reached around the whole earth.

In Jesus Christ we have been restored to our original created state - good and upright before the Lord (Eccl. 7.29). Now we are called to cling to Him, to live before Him in worship and obedience, to lead others to the knowledge of God and Christ, and to work our part of the Garden so that the beauty, goodness, and truth of God might flourish through our hands.

Is this how we see our lives? It's how our Celtic Christian forebears saw theirs, and they made an impact on their world, the power and effects of which continue to our day.

God has restored us for the purpose of filling our lives with meaningful work, work that stretches and satisfies us even as it benefits others and brings glory to God.

Today, how will you express the restoration Jesus has brought into your life?

Be sure to visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and check out the many resources and opportunities available there.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.