Garden of Eden

One day while walking through the Dallas Arboretum, breathing in the sweet aroma of the thousands of varieties of plants and flowers I began to wonder what it was like in the Garden of Eden. As beautiful as the Botanical Gardens are it is at best tainted with the imperfections of sin. The atmosphere is not pure, the ground is tainted, and the climate as near perfect as it may be still falls short to the Garden planted and tended by God first then by a near perfect man in a perfect environment.

Something else about the Garden captures my thoughts. Just imagine, what would it be like to be on a small (relatively) part of the earth in a perfect environment with everything you need, want or desire and throughout the day you have one on one conversations with God. He actually walks in the garden and talks with you. He doesn’t think only of what you have with Him, but He cares so much about you that he causes you to see your need, and then fulfills that need by creating a mate for you. A mate made by the hands of the same Artist that just created the sun, moon, stars, the earth and the entire universe. What a deal!

Worship was a lifestyle with Adam. It was not something that was put on. It was not something that He had to labor over. It was not something that he switched on and off. It was life for him to walk, talk, and commune, spend time with, listen to, learn from, and be in the presence of the God of the universe. Everything was just right. Just like it was after God created everything – it was very good!

But something happened. That sweet communion between God and Adam was broken because of sin. That broke the heart of God. He had so enjoyed the fellowship with the one part of creation that was made in His own image. However, He was not going to let sin keep Him away from His precious creation.

Where He had every right to forsake Adam, destroy him and start all over again, God instead pursued Adam and took the first step to restore that relationship. That pursuit continues even today. We all have sinned, but God pursues us to restore the original relationship that He desired to have with Adam. For Adam, God sacrificed an animal, shedding its blood, and used the skin to cover his nakedness. For us God sacrificed His Beloved, shedding His blood and used Him to not only cover our nakedness before Him, but to cleanse and remove our sin before His holiness.

Bow before Him in worship in light of that today.

Pastor MJ