{"id":225674,"date":"2025-09-17T01:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/?p=225674"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:13:49","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T18:13:49","slug":"gea02-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3","title":{"rendered":"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\">Genesis 2:8\u201315 (NIV84)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><sup>8<\/sup>Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. <sup>9<\/sup>And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground\u2014trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. <sup>10<\/sup>A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. <sup>11<\/sup>The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. <sup>12<\/sup>(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) <sup>13<\/sup>The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. <sup>14<\/sup>The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. <sup>15<\/sup>The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">If you were to ask the common man to describe paradise, he would likely paint a picture of endless vacation. It is a world of rest without responsibility, of consumption without cultivation\u2014a hammock, a sunset, and an utter lack of obligation. This makes the account of Eden in Genesis all the more startling. For in the midst of this perfect world, filled with every provision for man\u2019s aesthetic, physical, and spiritual needs, God introduces work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Long before the serpent entered, long before the ground was cursed with thorns and thistles, Adam was placed in the garden &#8220;to work it and take care of it.&#8221; This is a truth so profound that we often fail to grasp its weight. Work is not a punishment for sin; it is a fundamental part of the original, unfallen design for human flourishing. Just as food was necessary for the body, beauty for the soul, and fellowship for the heart, so work was necessary for man\u2019s fulfillment. A paradise without work would, it seems, cease to be paradise at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">This reveals that work is not simply a &#8220;drain&#8221; on our lives, but a core component of the \u2018good life\u2019 designed by our Creator. We see the truth of this in the unhappy lives of those who, through immense wealth or physical disability, have been cut off from meaningful labor. They often find that a life of pure leisure becomes a burden in itself. God put work into paradise because He knew it was an essential means of fulfilling our deepest needs\u2014the need to cultivate, to bring forth potential, and to care for the world around us. It is not merely for our own benefit, but for the &#8220;common good&#8221;\u2014to serve the beauties and living things He has placed in our charge. The modern world has distorted this, viewing work either as a brutal means to an end or the sole source of our identity. Genesis reminds us it was first intended as a gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Reflect, Share &amp; Pray:<\/strong> We often dream of a life without work, yet God placed work in paradise as a good gift. In what ways have you experienced your work not as a curse, but as a source of genuine fulfillment and a key part of your human design? Ask God to enlarge your mind on this matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Genesis 2:8\u201315 (NIV84) 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground\u2014trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-genesis-a"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise - Redemption Point<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise - Redemption Point\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Genesis 2:8\u201315 (NIV84) 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground\u2014trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Redemption Point\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RedemptionPointChurch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-17T08:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pastor Bumble\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pastor Bumble\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Pastor Bumble\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5add385654d4d302ee7b0f1e2201f41a\"},\"headline\":\"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T08:05:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3\"},\"wordCount\":582,\"commentCount\":8,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Genesis 1-11\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3\",\"name\":\"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise - Redemption Point\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-17T08:05:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/gea02-3#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/\",\"name\":\"RP-rebuild\",\"description\":\"The Gospel Changes Everything\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Redemption Point\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design.png\",\"width\":967,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"Redemption Point\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/RedemptionPointChurch\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5add385654d4d302ee7b0f1e2201f41a\",\"name\":\"Pastor Bumble\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c6242ca38bf0e8247546597d2d18d30ad7ddf18d3ef6939f28cdd26276bc4eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c6242ca38bf0e8247546597d2d18d30ad7ddf18d3ef6939f28cdd26276bc4eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c6242ca38bf0e8247546597d2d18d30ad7ddf18d3ef6939f28cdd26276bc4eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Pastor Bumble\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/vayhub.us\\\/rdpt22\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise - Redemption Point","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise - Redemption Point","og_description":"Genesis 2:8\u201315 (NIV84) 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground\u2014trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3","og_site_name":"Redemption Point","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RedemptionPointChurch","article_published_time":"2025-09-17T08:05:00+00:00","author":"Pastor Bumble","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Pastor Bumble","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3"},"author":{"name":"Pastor Bumble","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#\/schema\/person\/5add385654d4d302ee7b0f1e2201f41a"},"headline":"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise","datePublished":"2025-09-17T08:05:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3"},"wordCount":582,"commentCount":8,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Genesis 1-11"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3","url":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3","name":"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise - Redemption Point","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-17T08:05:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/gea02-3#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GeA02-3: Work, The Forgotten Paradise"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#website","url":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/","name":"RP-rebuild","description":"The Gospel Changes Everything","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#organization","name":"Redemption Point","url":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Untitled-design.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Untitled-design.png","width":967,"height":300,"caption":"Redemption Point"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RedemptionPointChurch"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/#\/schema\/person\/5add385654d4d302ee7b0f1e2201f41a","name":"Pastor Bumble","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6242ca38bf0e8247546597d2d18d30ad7ddf18d3ef6939f28cdd26276bc4eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6242ca38bf0e8247546597d2d18d30ad7ddf18d3ef6939f28cdd26276bc4eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c6242ca38bf0e8247546597d2d18d30ad7ddf18d3ef6939f28cdd26276bc4eee?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Pastor Bumble"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225674"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225674\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225675,"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225674\/revisions\/225675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}