Old Testament
Genesis 2:15-17
15 The LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.
16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
New Testament
Hebrews 1:2-3
2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
3 His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, who, when he had by himself purified us of our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Genesis places the human creature in a garden with a calling: to work it and keep it. Not to strip it, not to treat it as disposable, but to tend and guard. Even before sin, there is responsibility. The world is gift, and we are placed within it as stewards.
Hebrews lifts our eyes further still. The Son is the one through whom God made the ages, the radiance of God’s glory, the one who “upholds all things by the word of his power.” Creation is not finally ours. It is held in Christ.
Travel and mobility are part of life, and often part of mercy. Yet the way we move can either honour the garden or wound it. To journey lightly is not to be puritanical; it is to be attentive. Heirs of the King are also subjects within his world, called to keep what we did not make.
Lord, teach us grateful restraint. Give wisdom to those shaping transport and energy, that convenience does not become harm. Help us to choose well where we can, and to advocate where we must. And make our lives a kind of tending: moving through your world with reverence, seeking the good of neighbours and the keeping of your creation.