The soil has been plowed. The rows are set. The seeds are sown. Rain has been falling. The sprouts should appear soon!
Gardens are full of new life. Tender plants need healthy soil, sun, and rain to grow, but at times they need knowledgeable people to help them grow strong. Weeds must be pulled. Some plants need to be staked. If insects or disease appear, then the correct protective measures must happen.
When Adam and Eve were caregivers of God’s garden, they walked throughout the greenery every day. In fact, God joined them in the cool of the day. The animals had no fear. Adam called them by name. How colorful and bright the flowers must have been!
But after the disobedience, God “kicked” them out of the garden. After all, if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, what was to keep them from eating from the Tree of Life and thus, staying in their sin permanently?
The ground became cursed. Weeds. Thorns. Rocks. Pests. Disease. A glorious garden transformed into drudgery. The colors became dull and the evening walks together ceased. Holiness had no place with sinfulness.
The angel with a flaming sword was placed at the east of the garden. The garden was off-limits. Humanity spread. Sin caused death. God chose a people. The channel was in place. Thousands of years passed. A baby was born in a stable.
A decision was made in a garden. Jesus asked his Father to take the cup away, yet he surrendered to the will of the One who loved and created. Through agony and betrayal, Jesus decided to take the weight of sin upon His shoulders. A man claiming to be God died on a cross.
The tomb was in a garden. An angel rolled away a stone. A body left a tomb. Life replaced death. Jesus walked up to Mary Magdalene and he called her by name. I wonder if Mary thought the flowers were brighter after that day.
God’s story with humanity began in a garden. Jesus dealt with sin in a garden. What does a garden mean to us now? Let’s dwell on the metaphor of a garden for a moment:
- What type of soil is in your heart? As the seeds of Truth from the scriptures attempt to take root, is the soil hard? or soft?
- Maybe you are distracted by worldly things. Are weeds and thorns strangling the seeds which are trying to grow?
- Is the Master Gardener lovingly pruning you so that more fruit can be produced through your life?
- Are you getting your fill of the Living Water?
- Are your roots deeply grounded in the scriptures?
- Perhaps you have a hedge of protection around you as God protects you from pests?
- Are you plagued by weeds? Are there sins you need to deal with?
- What type of fruit are you producing?
- Are you sowing the seeds of salvation in others? or helping to reap the harvest?
There is going to be another garden. One in which God and humanity will walk together again. A garden with streets of gold and trees with twelve kinds of fruit. There will be a crystal river and no sun because God is the Eternal Light. It will be a place of no death. No sadness. No disease. No weeds. No pests.
Remember that Tree of Life? We’ll get to eat from it and go through the gates. All will be as it should be. We shall see him as he is. And the flowers will be beautiful!
Anne Marie has a Masters Degree in Education with a focus on Christian Education. She is the author of the blog Future.Flying.Saucers. Anne Marie has a passion for biblically equipping parents and teachers so children can fly for Jesus. On Wednesday nights you will find her teaching Biblical concepts to Awana clubs at her church. All of her Awana and Bible lessons can be found on her blog.
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