Lessons from Eden

I've always been fascinated with history, especially ancient history. Perhaps this is why I've always been an interested Old Testament student. One of the greatest and most studied parts of the Old Testament is the story of Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden. You see, there is a unique connection between Eden and Heaven. When you read Genesis 2 you read something that is truly incredible and may be a preview of what we will experience on the New Earth in eternity. This "something" is God's intimate relationship with humanity. Do you sometimes feel that God is far away in this place that people call Heaven? In fact, he's so far away that he can't possible have any kind of relationship with you? After all, everyone knows that long distance relationships never work. This is not true. How can I know this? God has demonstrated his love and desire for relationship over and over. And it all started in Eden. First, God created a special place on the Earth for man to thrive both in his physical nature and in his realtionship with God himself. That place was Eden. Scripture tells us that it wasn't uncommon for God to walk in the garden in the "cool of the day" Genesis 3:8. Can you imagine what that was like for Adam and Eve? What makes it so incredible is that they didn't think it was incredible. God was their friend, father, companion, someone who wanted to be with them. Second, God cared for the couple. He tended to their physical and emotional needs as well as giving them purpose. Above all the creation, we as humans are given the task of managing it all. There is implicit trust in being given this task. I am humbled when I consider that God has entrusted me with the management of the Earth. As we well know, the garden experience ended for Adam and Eve. Their "fall" began a chain of events that has led to our present age. Interestingly it is this chain that is also pointing toward Heaven. Where once again God will prepare a special place where a resurrected humanity will thrive (the New Earth). He will once again walk with us in the cool of the day. He will care for us in ways that put the Eden experience to shame. And we will, finally, achieve the purpose for which we were created; to serve God without shame. We will be able to do this without the threat or corruption of sin. I can't wait, and we owe it all to the Lessons of Eden.