HOW IT STARTED VS. HOW IT'S GOING
Now the LORD
God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
Genesis 2:8 (NIV)
Several years ago, the How It Started vs. How It's Going meme took over social media. The trend involved placing two pictures side by side to compare how things have changed from a point in the past to the present day. Social media certainly didn't exist for Adam and Eve, but if there were ever two people whose How it started looked vastly different from their How it's going, it was them.
God formed Adam and Eve, and He placed them in a beautiful garden in Eden with the responsibility to care for the garden and every other living creature He'd made. Life in the garden was good and perfect. It was like heaven on earth, a place of flourishing and delight. They lived in harmony and peace with each other and the animals. They knew no fear or shame. Oh, what it must have been like to never be plagued by the thought, Am I good enough? Pain, frustration and stress never tainted their experiences, nor did brokenness, sickness or death.
Unlike the rest of God's creation, God made Adam and Eve in His image, and He blessed them with the privilege of His friendship. He also gave them a tremendously significant purpose: to glorify Him and enjoy living in relationship with Him.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve fully lived their purpose. Their hearts were satisfied by God alone, and they lived every day in God's presence, experiencing the greatest joy the human heart can know. The joy of friendship with God. The joy of freely talking with God. The joy of living in God's perfect paradise. The joy of knowing and loving God and of being fully known and fully loved by God.
They had everything one could ever dream of, and life was very good. But rather than appreciate all they'd been given, they fell into a trap of doubt and desire that led them away from God's best for them, breaking their pure and perfect relationship with God and each other. What started well quickly unraveled into the world we find ourselves in today, where we desperately ache for someone to make things right again.
APPLICATION: Spend some time imagining what life was like in the garden. What about Eden do you long for the most?
PRAYER: God, my heart longs for life like Adam and Eve knew in the garden. Fill me with hope and assurance that one day, You'll make things like Eden again. Amen.
"… Our Father in heaven…" Matthew 6:9b (NLT)
• What do You want to say to me today as my Father?
"… may your name be kept holy." Matthew 6:9c (NLT)
• What do You want to reveal to me about Your power today?
"May your Kingdom come soon." Matthew 6:10a (NLT)
• Help me make Your priorities my priorities today.
"Give us today the food we need," Matthew 6:11 (NLT)
• Is there anything specific You want me to do with my time or the people I'm around today?
"and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us" Matthew 6:12 (NLT)
• Reveal to me anyone I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness.
"And don’t let us yield to temptation…" Matthew 6:13a (NLT)
• Is there anywhere I'm vulnerable to temptation?