Vocations are grounded in creation itself and are symbolized in Scripture with commands to fill the earth and subdue it’that is, family and work (Gen. 1:28). These creational gifts from our benevolent Father remain in effect even after the Fall, though in that sinful moment they were distorted and transformed, or more appropriately “malformed,” by the curse. In other words, while family and work remain at the center of the ongoing “Cultural Mandate,” now childbirth and labor are affected by pain and toil. Having died spiritually, we are all headed toward physical death. This is life exiled from the Garden, “away from the presence of the LORD . . . east of Eden” (Gen. 4:16).
Thursday, November 1st 2012
