Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26
The word “dominion” means “to rule”. God made man to rule, to decide, to initiate.
God had already begun to bring Adam things to do. God gave Adam the job to name the animals – to be creative, to take initiative, to initiate. In other words, God brought Adam into a place and gave him some things to rule over and make decisions about.
And God does that same thing for men today. Men, God has placed you in a garden. He has given you people and things to care for.
Now, in the context of the whole story we also know that Adam’s task of carrying out dominion (or rule) could not sufficiently be done without assistance. That was the primary reason for creating a helper for Adam – to help him carry out his rule.
And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him. Genesis 2:18
When people read that God said it was “not good” for Adam to be alone, they frequently assume that God was helping Adam’s loneliness through creating a woman. They equate it simply to companionship. But it doesn’t say that. Interestingly, Adam doesn’t mention one time about being lonely. Eve was not created because Adam was lonely. She was created to help Adam with what he was initiating and responsible for.
God has created and equipped men to be initiators; and just like God put Adam in the garden of Eden and gave him freedom to rule and make decisions, God has put you in your own field to tend it and make decisions.
Real men tend their gardens! Real men do what needs to be done. Real men take ownership and leadership.