(dedicated to my new granddaughter, Eden Catherine)
Eden
The "mother of all living", and her man, "from the earth", walked with the Creator in Eden, the place He made for them. The very meaning of the name of the Garden, “Eden,” has become hidden in the shadows of history and culture. We hear “paradise” or “primeval” or, maybe “sanctuary” or “retreat”. Man has echoed the Garden in Shangri-La and Xanadu. We long for that lost place of youth, vigor, innocence, purity. That quiet, green, peaceful world has been corrupted into a brown, noisy, dirty turmoil. Eden, “the fruitful plain”, has become a dying desert. Gone are faith, hope, love, peace, beauty, grace …
Oh, how we long to get back to that place of our childhood! “Eden…” we longingly whisper in our moments of silent reflection and connection. He asked, “Where are you…;” but, truthfully, although we have run and hidden from Him, the problem is not His lack of knowledge, but rather ours! We have eaten from that Tree and lost the very thing it promised. Down a serpentine path of death we have since stumbled, forgetting the way back to Eden!
Somewhere east of Eden we have wandered. “Go west…” has a far deeper meaning than our frontier urge. Deeper than our longing for new lands, is our hunger for home, Eden. The very name, “Eden,” conjures images of peace and plenty. In the nether and nowhere of “Nod” we feel regret and remorse! At best, the Bellingraths here only stir our souls for the real Garden.
Paradise will be restored, and all renewed. Sin and death will be no more. We will delightfully relish the fruit of the second Tree, hidden away and guarded by angelic swords until just the right time. Eden awaits the return of the sons and daughters of the first couple, long ago sent away. “Eden…” is in our hearts! Perhaps “Eden” will lead us all home?!
Eden
The "mother of all living", and her man, "from the earth", walked with the Creator in Eden, the place He made for them. The very meaning of the name of the Garden, “Eden,” has become hidden in the shadows of history and culture. We hear “paradise” or “primeval” or, maybe “sanctuary” or “retreat”. Man has echoed the Garden in Shangri-La and Xanadu. We long for that lost place of youth, vigor, innocence, purity. That quiet, green, peaceful world has been corrupted into a brown, noisy, dirty turmoil. Eden, “the fruitful plain”, has become a dying desert. Gone are faith, hope, love, peace, beauty, grace …
Oh, how we long to get back to that place of our childhood! “Eden…” we longingly whisper in our moments of silent reflection and connection. He asked, “Where are you…;” but, truthfully, although we have run and hidden from Him, the problem is not His lack of knowledge, but rather ours! We have eaten from that Tree and lost the very thing it promised. Down a serpentine path of death we have since stumbled, forgetting the way back to Eden!
Somewhere east of Eden we have wandered. “Go west…” has a far deeper meaning than our frontier urge. Deeper than our longing for new lands, is our hunger for home, Eden. The very name, “Eden,” conjures images of peace and plenty. In the nether and nowhere of “Nod” we feel regret and remorse! At best, the Bellingraths here only stir our souls for the real Garden.
Paradise will be restored, and all renewed. Sin and death will be no more. We will delightfully relish the fruit of the second Tree, hidden away and guarded by angelic swords until just the right time. Eden awaits the return of the sons and daughters of the first couple, long ago sent away. “Eden…” is in our hearts! Perhaps “Eden” will lead us all home?!
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