The Great Gift of Partnership

Jun 27 2025 - Eric Buresh

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. —Genesis 2:8 

Imagine the scene of Eden—not born of human hands but planted by the Lord Himself. Every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food sprang not from the sweat of Adam’s brow, but from the fertile goodness of God’s own hand. The rivers flowed, the fruit ripened, the earth smiled with abundance—all before man lifted a finger. 

And yet, the same God who planted the garden placed man within it, not as a guest merely to enjoy, but as a steward—“to tend and to keep it.” 

What a mystery? The God who speaks galaxies into existence, who needs no help and lacks no strength, invites man to join Him in His work. Not because God needs assistance, but because man needs purpose. It was not weakness in the Creator that called for Adam’s hands—it was grace that offered man the joy of laboring in partnership with God. 

This pattern is not confined to Eden. From beginning to end, God given us a great gift by accomplishing His purposes through human partnership. He does not need preachers, and yet He sends them. He does not need intercessors, and yet He hears them. He does not need gardeners of the soul, and yet He calls His people to tend, to sow, to water—and to trust Him for spiritual growth. 

You, believer, are placed in a garden still—not of Eden’s perfection, but of redemptive possibility. You have been called to tend the soil of your own heart, to pull up the weeds of sin, to water the seeds of holiness, to guard the peace God has given. You have been charged to keep the gospel, to labor in the fields of evangelism and discipleship, to plant truth in the hearts of others as a faithful steward of the kingdom. And you have been sent into the world—into communities broken by the fall—to restore what has been ruined, to plant righteousness where the trees of justice have been felled by the greed and pride of men. 

Do not mistake this invitation for a burden. It is a gift. The One who does not need you has chosen to work with you—not for His benefit, but for yours. You were made to walk with God, not only in the cool of the day, but in the sweat of faithful labor. In His love, He has joined your hands to His harvest, your voice to His gospel, your life to His great mission. 

Though He could do it all without you, He has chosen to do it with you. 

And it is good. Very good.