TEND AND KEEP – The Master Principle for Life and Living
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Genesis 2:15
Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
I Corinthians 4:1-2
And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward,
Hebrews 3:5
*all scriptures are taken from the NKJV, unless otherwise stated
Introduction
There is not a better time in history than the time we are in right now, where each man should conduct a thorough review of their lives, assignments and purposes on earth, to see if each has been faithful to their life’s purpose. Obviously this is so because of the season we are in, where all men will give account of their lives before God. No one is here on this earth as an accidental discharge from nowhere. Irrespective of how each was conceived or born or the level of animosity or love between the two that gave birth to them. All men on earth are born for unique God-given purposes. That some know and walk in the reality of their purposes while others don’t, doesn’t change the fact that everyone was born for a God-given purpose. There are lots of teachings and books out there that speak of the purpose or destiny of men to the point where those terms have become cliché and topics useful for making businesses grow, and not for the supply of truth that gives clear perspectives of the mind of God concerning each person and how they can be effective in their walks with God.
Every man is blessed
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28
The blessing of God over all of creation is not linked to any form of affiliation to religious organizations or spiritual creeds. Man was blessed by God long before any form of society or community was created on earth. However, this blessing is directly tied to the principle of tending and keeping the purpose of God given for man. The blessing of multiplication, replenishment, dominion and all the things God spoke to man in the garden, are not isolated from His mind to see man tend and keep His purpose on earth. In fact, the true blessing of God only rests on him who tends and keeps God’s purpose on earth. Period! When scripture says God will bless the work of a man’s hand, He wasn’t talking of how we have defined it as increment in business turnover or better jobs or whatever we like to define it as. He was speaking of the blessing He, God, puts on the man who tends and keeps His purpose, irrespective of the financial status of such a man. However, His purpose can also be manifested as the job, business, or anything He puts in our hands to do on a daily basis. The true blessing of God over a man is found in these words “well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the REST of your Lord” even while such man is still alive on earth. The blessing of God is REST. And rest is not defined as holidays in some make believe resorts, but the alignment and conformity of man back to the image and likeness of God. For concerning Israel, scripture says Joshua could not give them rest even though they got into the promised land. (See Hebrews 4:8). And God will only say or give such REST to a man who is keeping and tending the purpose of God in truth and by the Spirit. That a man is a billionaire according to the wealth of this world doesn’t mean he is blessed of God. Every blessing of God comes with excellence and to excel is to bring forth God in all things.
Imagine the man Abraham, who was so blessed of God beyond worldly goods, that his bosom as Father Abraham is a place of rest for the saints who have finished their works here on earth, while they wait for their inheritance in God. This is true blessing. For true blessing exceeds this physical earth and speaks even in eternity.
Faithfulness
…it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. Faithfulness is the backbone of every relationship, both with men and with God. But the meaning of faithfulness has been battered over time to come to mean some kind of controlling commitment to something or a relationship, or agreements etc. To see it as just commitment is not complete, for it goes beyond just commitment. Faithfulness is a deliberate commitment and alignment to that which is unseen, but which is known through faith, anchored onto through hope, which then creates a lifestyle and pattern of walk with God, for the bringing forth of the same with God. Meaning, faithfulness is not just about being committed to a thing, but allowing that commitment to create a pattern of daily walk of faith with God and even as we relate to men. For whatever a man does outside of faith cannot please God. And since faith comes by hearing the word of God, then being committed to that which does not come by hearing the word of God will still not please God. In other words, faithfulness is about pleasing God. The faithfulness of the Christ to God the Father while He was on earth didn’t just make Him walk in obedience before God, but it created a pattern of daily walk and lifestyle with God. What He says, does, thinks, allows, disallows, rebukes or accepts, are all tied to His lifestyle created by His faithfulness to God. When true faithfulness takes hold of a man, his entire lifestyle takes the shape of that commitment to what he is faithful to. If such faithfulness is to God, then such a man already, while still alive on earth, lives in eternity.
Tend and keep
Over the past years, I have often wondered what exactly can be said is the original plan of God concerning man and his daily purpose on earth. After much thinking, meditation and lots of considerations, one principle stands out strong and as far too foundational to not be seen for what it is. I speak of the principle of tend and keep. By this simple phrase given from the heart of God to humanity from the inception of the earth, everything was meant to work. It doesn’t matter which field of endeavor or calling, all is subjected to the principle of tend and keep. This is a master principle that carries the power to change our world if applied with diligence and commitment to God.
What is tend and keep?
To tend and keep is to incubate, birth, nurture and watch diligently over the purpose or the word of God given to a man within the space of time and the generation in which it is given. It is directly tied to a man’s purpose in God. The purpose of God for man is simply that man should be the image and likeness of God on the earth. And to tend and keep is to incubate, nurture, birth and watch over diligently, that purpose of God. Meaning that no one can tend or keep the purpose of God in their lives if they don’t know what God’s purpose for them is. And mind you, the entire world is in disarray because men have chosen to believe that there is no God or any form of God-given purpose and thus no forms of tending and keeping of such purposes of God. Men have learnt to create their own destinies and realities in a sense, without any clue of what God intends for them and how they should tend and keep them and the result is the chaos and tragedy we have on earth today. Imagine a situation on earth where every man knows their purpose in God and then gives it all it takes to tend and keep such purpose. It will be all glorious. Why? When each one knows his purpose, tends and keeps it, then the mystery of as every joint supplies for the growth of the fullness of God in creation will be achieved. The original purpose of God to be one with creation will be seamlessly achieved.
The Nations must learn this
You see nations of the world go through untold hardship, they put such heavy burdens on their citizens in the form of taxes and levies and all forms heart breaking policies, which don’t make sense most times, just so they can keep their economic agendas and man made systems running. But God didn’t create any nation and leave them without natural resources that would take care of their needs. It’s just that nature will not respond to man as long as he has not learnt how to tend and keep God’s purpose. There is a difference between tending and keeping for God, and toiling and sweating to keep body and soul together. The first is a blessing from God while the other is a curse. But the question is this, why do men love to toil and sweat to eat, which is a curse, even though they have the option of to tend and keep, which is God’s original blessing. The answer is simple. Man always wants to do his own self will rather than do God’s will.
So let Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, America, South Africa, Australia and all the nations of the earth go back to knowing God’s purpose for their nation, tend and keep that purpose and you will see the natural blessing that God kept in that land suddenly manifest and nations won’t need to tax or burden their people anymore. For when God said in Genesis 3 that in sweat and toiling shall man eat out of the ground, He meant it as a curse and the only solution to that is for man to go back to tending and keeping God’s purpose. But there is hope, for God Himself said “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7:14 (KJV) The time has come for every man to embrace humility, repentance before God, seeking God’s face, turn from wicked ways, for God to heal our lands.
You will give account
But let it be known that for every act of faithfulness to God’s purpose that a man takes on himself and every act of unfaithfulness that a man chooses to express before God, he will give account of it all. God is a just God and He will repay every man according to how his works shall be.
My thought is this, what kind of society would we have, if, the president of a nation, a supreme court judge, a doctor in the hospital, a member of parliament, a teacher, a footballer, a musician, a pastor, a landlord, a business man etc all are committed to tending and keeping the purpose of God in their hands, without corrupt compromises and any forms of evil conscience at work? Think about it for your own purpose in God and do all to tend and keep the purpose of God in your hand and our society will not be the same again.
One reason I believe that makes men walk away from the purpose of God and the tending and keeping of such purposes, is that man loves his self will and wants to be in control of his own life without giving any thought to the truth that no one owns their lives outside of God.
For the overcoming sons of God, who are daily nailed on their cross of tending and keeping the purpose of God for their lives, stay strong, for you will reap the fruit of your labor of love to God in due season if you faint not. For the suffering of the overcoming sons of God is not necessarily in physical lack sometimes, but in their commitment to “not my will Lord, but yours be done”. This is what the world doesn’t want to do and this is the difference between those who are overcoming and those who are not.
Stay blessed always and keep tending and keeping the purpose of God for your life.
My takeaway
. When true faithfulness takes hold of a man, his entire lifestyle takes the shape of that commitment to what he is faithful to. If such faithfulness is to God, then such a man already, while still alive on earth, lives in eternity.
Thanks Bro.