Wheresoever He is–there is Eden.

What pictures come to your mind when you think about Eden?1 Or have you drawn any images other than the snake coiled at Eve’s feet, conversing with her? What was the tree that God said was “taboo?” Mull Eden around for a moment and see what you have stored in your thinking processes through the years from the various teachings that have influenced your thoughts.

What do we know from the Bible about the garden to the East called Eden? We know that God was pleased with the things He created and placed in the Garden. He merely spoke and it was done; He looked; He analyzed carefully and declared, “It is good.” He created to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food.2 With this scripture we know that Eden was beautiful and that God provided for our physical needs. We know that there were no carnivorous animals and that God did not create animals as food for the man. Genesis 1:29-30 Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. God respected every facet of His creation. It was Eden–a place of peace, beauty, and love and everything man needed was there.

There weren’t any tornados or floods or fires or animals that threatened the man or fought against each other for food and supremacy. God planned an indescribable life for man with every need supplied and nothing to harm–for man, the one facet of His creation with whom He could interact–this most complicated, beloved creature. No. God created a magnificent haven called Eden. Man, under Satan’s control, created the chaotic world in which we now exist. Man rejected God’s plan of love and provision and protection and chose to depend upon himself–to do things “his way.”

Then came the day when God called to the man and the woman as He sought their companionship and found them cowering behind bushes hiding their nakedness.3 Adam and Eve sacrificed purity, innocence, and freedom for independence–rebellion against God’s way. They had eaten of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and now they were “like God” and had the awesome insight of right and wrong. An innocent animal was slain for their covering just as the innocent Christ was slain for our covering. Can you comprehend that picture? Can you see it? And He used words that were foreign to Adam and Eve as He told them to leave–words that had no meaning in God’s Eden–grief, death, pain. Then He placed a sentinel at the gate to Eden, no more to walk and talk in the beauty He had designed for us. Eden was no more.

Now we live in a fallen world where those ugly words are part of every life, where there are evil, cruel people, sickness, disasters, and pain. God super-naturally intervenes at times and performs a miracle. We recognize God’s hand when this happens, but this isn’t always the case. As we live in this stress-filled world we must know–we must know–that He is aware of every pain. You have seen me tossing and turning through the night. You have collected all my tears and preserved them in Your bottle. You have recorded every one in Your book.4 He goes with us through the disaster, the death, and the pain but we must see that these are part of our existence in this dark, fallen world. Eden is only something we have read about. Eden is but a memory.

But there is hope. He tells us, “I’m going to go on ahead of you to prepare a place for you, because wherever I am I want you to be there with Me.” 5There is that place, that haven, that “Eden” and we are on our journey to move there–permanently. This world is not our home, we are just passing through.

Thank You, Lord, for taking care of me–planning a place for me where we can be together as You were with Adam and Eve in the Garden. I’ll look forward to walking with You in the cool of the day. You know when I will arrive–just call me and I’ll come.

1Genesis 2:8
2Genesis 2:9
3Genesis 3:8
4Psalm 56:8 TLB
5John 14:2-3