Return to the Garden

There are many places in our lives that we have a yearning--a mysterious hunger for something we may not consciously recognize. Is it possible that our unconscious remembers what it was like to walk and talk with God in the Garden of Eden? Or maybe even more absurd--could we remember our very own spiritual creation-- the one that takes place "before I placed you in your mothers’ womb?" (Jer 1:5) Have you ever closed your eyes for a few moments and asked God…

In August 2020, residents of Olten, Switzerland, were startled to find that it was snowing chocolate! A malfunction in the ventilation system of the local chocolate factory had caused chocolate particles to be diffused into the air. As a result, a dusting of edible chocolate flakes covered cars and streets and made the whole town smell like a candy store. When I think of delicious food “magically” falling from the heavens, I can’t help but think of God&rsquo…

The resurrection of Jesus was the first of many, the forerunner of our own. He paved the way, as the saying goes. The fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again. (1 Cor. 15:20 NLT) God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of…

Things are not what they were meant to be. East of Eden, we have kept moving east and come all the way ’round, finding the garden utterly lost and cruelly unrecognizable. We were all born into this world. We came in gasping for air, and we are gasping still. It’s a tough place to make a living, a hard place to make a life. Fire and ice. Beauty and terror. Pain and healing. Intertwined. The good news is that Life wins out. Life has already won out. Love has won.…

Have you ever wondered why God allowed Adam and Eve to sin? Since He’s all-powerful and all-knowing, He certainly was not surprised by their rebellion and could have stopped them from dragging the entire human race into sin and suffering. So why didn’t He? Although we can’t fathom the inscrutable mind of God, Romans 5:20 of today’s passage gives us some insight: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” The presence of sin in…

The Scriptures employ a wide scale of metaphors to capture the many facets of our relationship with God. If you consider them in a sort of ascending order, there is a noticeable and breathtaking progression. Down near the bottom of the totem pole we are the clay and he is the Potter. Moving up a notch, we are the sheep and he is the Shepherd, which is a little better position on the food chain but hardly flattering; sheep don't have a reputation as the most graceful…

God gave me an image in my mind and imagination. That when the veil tore--we could freely step back into the garden of Eden where we could once again walk and talk with Him. As he shared this image, I realized the significance of this representation of the journey for all of us. The need for each of us to give up the law and any notion that we can work our way back to God. That we must accept all of the rites that come with accepting Jesus' sacrifice. This sacrifice…

Are you hungry? Not physically hungry, but do you have a hunger for something more in life? Is there something deep inside of you that never seems to be satisfied? If so, Jesus is the way! Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). Are you confused? Can you never seem to find a path or purpose in life? Does it seem like someone has turned out the lights and you…

If for all practical purposes we believe that this life is our best shot at happiness, if this is as good as it gets, we will live as desperate, demanding, and eventually despairing men and women. We will place on this world a burden it was never intended to bear. We will try to find a way to sneak back into the Garden and when that fails, as it always does, our heart fails as well. If truth be told, most of us live as though this life is our only hope. In his wonderful…