God is faithful and good. God is sovereign. God is our redeemer.
What can we look forward to?
Garden of Glory
Act 5: Home, Week 2
Right after God breathed into man and made him a living being, "the Lord God planted a Garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Genesis 2:8). God always intended to dwell with man, but not just to dwell with man, to dwell in a Garden with man. In Eden, Adam and Eve had an intimate relationship with God and full access to Him. God never wanted a barrier between Him and His people, and this is true even today. Throughout His story, despite man's rebellious turns on the path, God never wavered in His desire to dwell with His creation, His people. Isn't it incredible that our Holy God is faithful and good and still wants to be in a relationship with us after all this time and all this devastation?
For me, the most heartbreaking consequence of Adam and Eve's sin was to be cast out of the presence of the Lord. A separation from my God and the Glory of His might would simply be gut-wrenching. What a relief to know the full story and to know that we will eventually know God fully, that when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away! 2 Thessalonians 2:9 tells us that "They (those who do not know God) will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might" Those of us who have a relationship with Jesus, have souls that long to be homeward bound, to see Jesus in all His glory, to be in the garden again, at home with our King forever. If the greatest loss of Eden was dwelling with God in the Garden, how much more will the greatest gain of heaven be— dwelling with Him in Glory?
After all, Revelation 21:3 proclaims, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God." The reunited fellowship we are promised with Him should keep us on the edge of our seats in excitement and bring us to tears in awe.
We have so much to look forward to! Let me ask you this: "Do you enjoy looking forward to walking in the Garden with God?" While you are waiting, are you sleepily living one day to the next, almost numb to the fact that you have a relationship with your creator and He desires more time with you? Are you so fixed on the final garden to come that you are unaware of His current nearness? Do you spend time walking and talking with God in this earthly garden, even though it can't compare to what is to come? Are you enjoying the little moments as we wait for the biggest moment to arrive?
We can only fantasize about what this Garden of Glory is like, from the description of the Tree of Life to the Throne of God; our limited understanding, paired with John's description of the vision, gives us a tiny glimpse into what the final Garden will be like. One thing we know for sure, though, is that it will be glorious! In reading the passages for this week, I hope you didn't get bogged down in the details. As John describes the throne and the creatures around it, the tree of Life, a river runs through it, the fruit of life bursting forth, trumpet soundings, and a chorus of "Holy, Holy, Holy resonating around, we have to remember that even our minds and ability to comprehend what is written will be made new! All of what John wrote in the book of Revelation is more than we can conceive and a mystery to behold.
We can look back at Eden in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what we can anticipate, but even this falls short, it is going to be even more magnificent. He is making all things new, and we will be eyewitnesses to His Majesty.
I hope we don't miss God's sovereign redemption in His story. How faithful and good He is and persistent in lovingly restoring our access to Him again and again. Even in our failures, especially in all our failures, Jesus's finished work on the cross allows us to enter God's presence again (Hebrews 10:19). Our King wants to walk with us, with you, in the Garden, and He invites us to bask in His glory. The story doesn't end here. He has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all (Psalm 45:6). It is what we can look forward to, a walk in the Garden of Glory forever and ever.
❤️ Meghan
