In the Garden

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:8,9 (ESV)

When I first think of a garden, I think of my grandmother's house. Rows of different vegetables neatly lined up, properly spaced, watered, fed, and weeded. A variety of edibles intentionally planted to serve her needs. Gardens are not always like that. We have a garden bed in front of our house where we planted a variety of shrubs and flowers to magnify the beauty of our home. There are some gardens that artfully display shapes and colors, used in the public to represent both nature and community. There are even gardens in Japan that were created to give us a sense of peace and tranquility. I presume the garden that was planted in Eden was an example of all of those.

Imagine the beauty that can come from such an all power, yet infinitely creative God. We are not just talking about a God that understands what beauty is but defines it. He created life as we know it, the very makeup of our soul down to the very atoms that make up all of life. He created colors, emotion, and even knows what sustains us, not just physically but spiritually and emotionally. God created this world to express His power and glory (Ps 19:1, Rom 1:20)! With songs of delight, he brought light into this world, split the waters with His voice, formed the birds, trees, flowers, animals, bugs, and us from the dust in the ground (Gen 1-2). He speaks, and new life is formed from the darkness. Not only life, but every kind of beauty! Nothing is impossible for Him!

But in the garden itself this beauty was not just for us to see His creative mind, but He formed a home specifically tailored for man and woman to fully be known and loved by God. A place where we can walk and talk with Him. We can wander the paths of Eden with him, in the very creation He made! I picture the Father embracing me in His arm as we take a stroll among the woods in the morning mist (Gen 2:6). "Son, look at this" He would say as I look up at Him with a tear in my eye. As He is walking with you, you realize that He doesn't need us in His life, He wants us!

I also think of the garden as a place where we can creatively give glory back to Him. In Genesis 2:15 He calls us to work (dress/serve) and keep (guard/keep watch) Eden, so we serve Him by cultivating the creation He gave us. Imagine it, we had every plant in the entire world at our fingertips, and the God of the universe watching us as we joyfully arrange them with care, cultivating it by the very joy He gives us. I think of a child building a castle out of sand without a care in the world. I can just see Him smiling at us...

But what astonishes me most is that in that same moment He knew what would happen next.

We had everything we needed or wanted, even the tree of life, but that was not enough. It was our choice that broke the bonds of fellowship with God, the sin of the first Adam. We wanted to trade in the perfect world created for us for a world where we can choose our own good and evil, our own version of a "perfect" world. Because of this, the garden was no longer a sanctuary but a place where God's glory was met with fear as we cowered among the trees. We were ashamed of our spiritual nakedness as we denied the gifts that the Father brought us for a kingdom of our own. Despite the temporary sacrificial coverings that hid our shame in that moment, we were now cut off from God.

But in this time of desperation and deserved judgement, God has given us mercy (Dan 9:9). He did not start over but laid out His plan for redemption and reconciliation (Jer 29:11). The descendants of Adam were looking for the day when we can walk with Him, talk with Him, and see His glory without cowering in shameful fear once again (Rom 8:15). As each generation passed, God showed His grace by giving prophets a small taste of regeneration through His Spirit. As they showed God's power, they also called for repentance as God's people showed the effects of that unfaithful day. Our sin now overshadows His perfect love by showing our desire to rule and reign ourselves again and again.

But He was not finished with His creation...

In the garden of Eden, we lost our fellowship with God by disobeying God. In the garden of gethsemane Jesus prayed to the Father as he became the better Adam (Rom 5:18-19) by being the righteousness we could not be. He did His fathers will, sacrificing Himself on the cross for our sins (Eph 2:14). Just as God spoke the world into existence, His word came down and dwelt among us (John 1:1-14), showing us the power of His presence in a broken and rebellious world. The blind could see, the deaf could hear, the lame could leap for joy as the healing touch of His Word.

As His prophets proclaimed in the past:

Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.... (Isaiah 35:4-8, emp mine)

The Lord has come to walk among His people again! More than that, these are pictures of the fall being restored to what it was meant to be. 

   We can feel His presence by faith (2 Cor 5:7)

   We can hear His voice, just like in the garden (John 16:13)

   We have new sight through His Spirit (2 Cor 3:15)

   We become a streaming flood of living water (John 7: 37-39)

   Even the animals become tame once again (Isa 11:6)

   We have been made clean by His blood (Rom 5:9)

   And He did not let one go astray (Matt 18:10-14)

But He did not come to give us a taste of His glory like before, but to complete His plan for all of those who yearn to be in the garden once again (Eph 1:7, Col 1:14). We repent of our selfish need of authority, and we give the life that was created by God back to Him. What a wonderful trade! We give our life to Him, and He gives us back His righteousness. This means that He was not just overlooking what we did but restoring our heart to Him. Just like in the Garden. He WANTS His people to be set free (Gal 5:1), to become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)! 

The garden brought brokenness, but in Jesus He can grow a new life in you. 

As I have been pondering the Garden over the last month, one song has stayed in my mind from Chris Renzema with Moriah Hazeltime called "Used to be Mine". You can hear it here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5e2BHJAGsZMKBbUQZT0CjN

YouTube: https://youtu.be/gDkkgkycvrs

Lyrics:

Lion and lamb once slept between the roses

And God and man once walked beneath the pine

Yeah my heart once felt the joy of consummation

When I was called my Father's holy prize

But in the garden

   We used to stay out all night

In the garden

   We used to laugh for days and days and days

In the garden

   You never needed to hide

Cause in the garden

   You used to be mine

   You used to be mine

The thorns dug in my heels got me bleeding

Each breath the draining sand of numbered days

My rebel heart is crying for salvation

Come save me from my wayward spirit's grave

In the garden,

   We used to stay out all night

Yea, in the garden

   We used to laugh for days and days and days

Yea, in the garden

   We never needed to hide

Cause in the garden

   You used to be mine

   You used to be mine

Used to be mine

In my dying days a light met my hearts waning

A voice calling like thunder through the dust

When lifted to his lips the cup of breaking

The Father turned away from his own son

But in death the earth was shaken from its spinning

A hand reached out to save me from the waves

And my stone heart was pulled out of my body

And by grace a garden grew up in its place