Wow.  I just read again what I just posted, and saw something new:  God created us in His mind first, then made the Garden for us before He made us!  Paul says "God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world..."

This means that He created the world (the Garden) with us in mind-- a perfect place for those He saw as "holy and blameless in His sight."  A holy and perfect Garden for His holy and perfect people... from the beginning, God knew His plan for the End-- for eternity.  He continues to see us the way that He made us, even though we have fallen so far from the original model.  If that's not love, I don't know what is.  Thank You, Holy Spirit :o)

Why Ruin the Garden with People?

About what was said at the beginning (see 8-31-12 blog)….  I’ve believed that as a good God, our Father doesn’t “trick” us with temptations and tests to see if we really love Him, etc.  He created a perfect world, then created human beings to populate it so that He might have fellowship with them.

Why would God need fellowship?  He already had His Son and His Holy Spirit for fellowship.  I think the truth is that God didn’t need fellowship with humans, but He wanted fellowship with His creation.  Perhaps He took a look at His incredible Eden and felt that it should be shared.  Like an artist who paints an amazing scene, but there is no one else enjoying it until s/he puts it on display.

I painted when I was younger because I needed to express myself, to put on canvas what was going on inside of me so that, stepping back and looking at it, I could gain insight into my existence, my place in the world, my reason for being.  The feedback that others gave about these creations helped me to refine my personal direction, a sort of compass in a chaotic environment.

I’m sure that God doesn’t need feedback to find His way; He’s not lost like I was.  But I can’t help thinking that when He created the cosmos, when He created our planet and His magnificent Garden, He wanted to show it to someone.  After all, it was awe-inspiring!

Listen to what He tells us in His Word (Genesis chapter 1):

·         He created light, and He “saw that the light was good.”
·         He created the heavens and the earth, the dry ground and the seas, and He “saw that it was good.”
·         He created all of the plants and trees, with their fruit and their seeds, and He “saw that it was good.”
·         He created the seasons, the sun, the moon and the stars, and He “saw that it was good.”
·         He created everything that lived in the sea, and it was good.  He created the animals that lived on the land, and it was good.

Six times before God created mankind, He looked at what He had made and declared that it was good!

Why didn’t He stop there?  The Trinity could have quietly enjoyed this creation forever without creating human beings.  It’s very likely that They’re enjoying other creations about which we know nothing even now… so why did God create us?

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image… and let them rule over… all the creatures…”  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Gen. 1:26- 28)

From a purely logical perspective it seems that God made the earth and all life, then put people in charge of it all so that He could go do something else.  While He may very well be doing something else somewhere else, He never seems to have left us here alone to do as He instructed.  There must be another reason we are here.

It seems that all of scripture speaks of a God of relationship—a God Who cares about His people, supplies their needs, fights their battles, consoles them in times of need, corrects them and leads them toward holiness, toward His presence.  Throughout scripture we hear Him tell us to listen, pray, seek, love, rejoice, find peace.  He heals us; He teaches us how to be like Himself.

God created us so that He could love us!  I love the plants in my garden, the sunsets and sunrises, the magnificence of the skies day and night, and so many wonderful things He continues to create around me.  But those things can’t return my love.  We love God because He first loved us—He created us because He wants to have a loving relationship with us forever.

This is why I can say that I have been created to worship—created to love above all this God of love.  These are conclusions I have reached in my garden.  Even though we are so often difficult to love, His Word declares that He loves us with an everlasting love all the same.

Why ruin the Garden with people?  God’s Garden is a place where love is grown, one heart at a time.  “… and it was very good.”  (Genesis 1:31)

The apostle Paul puts it like this:

“For God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves (Jesus.)   In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”

(Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 4- 12)

Holy Gardening

Sometimes I slow my life right on down to a stop.  And just sit.  Still.  Taking time to observe and experience “all the little things” that make life GOOD.  (Can you believe that someone has made a lot of money just by saying “Life is Good”?)

Good like soft shoulder snuggles from my lovebird, Tuni.  My honeybunch husband bringing me a cool drink while I’m sitting on the gazebo watching the yard grow.  The hundred sounds of backyard birds during their evening rituals.  The sound of the moon slipping through the tall trees.  Silhouettes and symphonies.

God must truly be the lover of our soul!  He surrounds us with goodness so plentifully woven into the everyday that we miss most of it while we’re busy living life.  That’s why a garden is so important.  A gardener has to move deliberately, purposefully and thoughtfully, tending to each stem, branch, blossom or root.  Silent structure exchanged for serenity.

A righteous life is like silent structure.  We move through our days deliberately choosing to follow a holy God.  We ask His Holy Spirit to carefully prune away our unholy elements, to tend to our transgressions with His holy tools.  Soon God will bring forth its harvest:

In that day— He tells us to

“Sing about a fruitful vineyard: I, the Lord, watch over it; I water it continually.  I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.  I am not angry.  If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!  I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.

Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.  In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."  (Isaiah 27: 2-6, NIV)

Ahhhh!  That’s GOOD.

Seasons 9/15/12

Ecclesiastes 3: 1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”

Autumn is coming to my garden.  Leaves are turning their colors; the herbs look tired after a summer well done.  The first cold front of the year came through this week and while it wasn’t a frosty one, the fading blossoms and last vegetables seemed to understand their time is growing short.

As usual in the garden I begin with one task in mind but soon become distracted by another, then another.  In the office throughout the week this is a bane, but here in the garden it’s OK to drift pleasantly from one plant or space to another.  It’s my peace.

I cut back the overgrown chaste tree (Vitex, truly a shrub seeking a higher glory) and trim off its seeding flower spikes.  I reach up into the crepe myrtle to pull down globs of Spanish moss (Tillandsia), noticing that a gentle tug is more effective than an all-out yank.  The roses whisper softly “dead-head please,” so I tend to them with joy, their fading fragrance mingled with nearby rosemary’s sensual scent.

I love the garden!  At the start of each season there are tasks of preparation: mulching and fertilizing in the spring; planting and watering in summer; pruning and clearing in fall; protecting plants and replanting bulbs in winter.  Each season has its unique glory—its own fullness and satisfaction.

My life is the same.  Each season is upon me before I know it.  But as I come to realize that a new season has begun I have choices to make.  Will I resist what is happening?  Is this a season of overcoming, a time of struggle?  A season of peace, or joy?  Once I recognize what’s happening I’m able to tend to the time at hand, knowing that this too shall pass and something new will take its place.   (Revelation 21:4)

The pruned myrtles lift their shortened branches, grateful to be free from the weight of the moss.  Trimmed rose shrubs sigh in pleasure, cleared of dead heads and ready for one more round of blooms.  Dead limbs removed from tomato and pepper plants reveal the final crop of summer, ready for the table in a few weeks.

Winter is still a season away and fall is one of my favorite times.  A time of peace and satisfaction.

Garden Friends 9/1/12

In the spring, the seedling vines that have waited all winter just below the soil poke their tiny shoots up into the sun.  Their first priority is to seek a friend—something upon which to climb.  In my garden, they sidle up to a nearby rosebush, last year’s hydrangea stalks or the large gardenia shrub at the edge.

 

At first they approach with a friendly kiss, a sweet hello.  So innocent and soft, no threat at all.  As the vine grows, it continues this playful embrace, wrapping loosely about the host plant’s stem or branches-- a gentle conversation, some morning chat.  By the time the host plant realizes it’s been had, the vine has tightened its grip, preparing to completely cover the host with its now spreading leafy cover.

 

Other plants aren’t sinister in their need for a friend.  Oakleaf hydrangeas, rhododendrons, azaleas and redbuds are all woodland plants that need the shade of trees and tall shrubs to begin their journey on the planet.  While they may outgrow the shade, they begin their lives protected from the burning sun by thriving in the undergrowth.

 

We all need someone, because we have been created for relationship.  “It is not good for the man to be alone,” said God after creating the first man Adam.  The need for relationship is in our very DNA—strands of protein joined in a patterned relationship uniquely constructed for every individual.  Cellular love.

 

Once my babies’ eyes began to focus, they reached for me—for my nose, my eyes, my earrings—whatever they could grab onto.  This was the beginning of the ride of my life as a mother!

 

As we form the many relationships of our lives we need to continue to learn about healthy, wise connections.  We don’t want to be so needy that we smother our partners or friends like the spring vines.  It wouldn’t be wise if we always remained in the shade of others’ glory.  And we can’t stand off to one side, shut down and unable to reach out.

 

God offers His wisdom on friendships throughout his holy word.  One of the most popular pieces on relationship is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verses 4 through 8:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”
 

Can you imagine having a friend or a spouse who does these things?  Just replace the word ‘love’ with the name of someone you love.  What a huge responsibility to be like this!  But little by little, year by year, we can try to be like this, working on one healthy aspect of love at a time.  One day, we may find that our love is exemplified through our patience, kindness, humility, our respect for others, compassion, understanding, and our forgiveness.  We may find that we are wonderfully able to celebrate the victories of others; we become vulnerable but strong as we cover for others, hope with others and seek to uphold others in their weakness.

That’s the growth I’d like to see in my Garden.  Guess I need some spiritual MiracleGro!

From the Garden 8/31/12

While meditating in my garden recently, I sensed that God seemed to be looking around at everything He had made and He was content. So it surprised me when I heard His Spirit whisper with a smile, “If you remove human beings from the Garden, everything is simply holy.”

“What?” I reacted. “Take me out of the garden? But it’s my favorite place to meet with you, Lord!” So of course I had to ponder His statement more carefully, because I couldn’t imagine that He really wanted to remove me from the garden…

It occurred to me that He had indeed removed human beings from the Garden when he expelled Adam and Eve long ago. That garden—the paradise of God—is first mentioned in the book of Genesis, chapter 2. Verse 8 tells us that “the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.” (New International Version)

So the Garden of Eden was designed and planted before human beings were placed there. In its original creation, the Garden was pure-- in a sense ‘holy.’ Verse 9 says that “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.”

But the trouble begins in the second half of verse 9: “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Aha! Herein lies the original problem—knowledge. Without human beings, there is no one with whom to impart knowledge. Plants don’t recognize or utilize knowledge. Animals have an innate wisdom not related to the practical ‘knowledge’ we seek in our human ways, such as math or physics, etc.

“But Lord,” I said, “You are the source of life and of knowledge. Why would You put a tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden?” I figured that Adam could just ask God for knowledge when he needed it, like King Solomon did. (This obviously worked for him!)

“Without temptation,” the Spirit replied, “Adam would have had nothing to overcome.”

Hmmm.

So…. unlike the plants that surrounded him in Eden, Adam was the first fleshly being who was given a choice—to obey God or to not obey God. And we all know what happened next…

I think (for now) that in my humble little garden the Holy Spirit must have been reflecting with a bit of nostalgia upon how sweet, how peaceful it was in the Garden of Eden before mankind entered. How unblemished and guileless was creation before our appearance!

Does God sometimes long wistfully—just for a moment in time-- for that day when He had the Garden all to Himself? When everything was holy? I know some parents who (although they deeply love their children) remember together from time to time the sweet joy of the early days in their marriage when they existed for each other alone…

Back to the premise that started this discussion: without human beings in the Garden, everything is simply holy. It seems that we’ll need a larger discussion on this: what is a ‘human being’? To which garden is He referring? What is ‘everything,’ and how holy is ‘holy’? For the time being, I’m going to go with the following:

Because I am a spiritual being on a human journey, I’m going to presume that God spoke of the flesh—the physical body that I lug around with me day and night. If this gravity-driven, age-aching, bruised and otherwise failing vessel is removed, could my spirit conceivably more easily approach a higher degree of holiness? Would I need the same God-allowed temptations in my life so that I would choose to overcome in His power?

If my soul is intangible, and if as a spiritual being I still (once free of the physical body) have the soul that has been developed over the span of my earthly existence, then wouldn’t I retain all of the experiences, knowledge, memories, emotions, and willful struggles I endured during this earthly life?

If that’s true, would I still need to learn to overcome until I had finished the course of my journey, resting at God’s own feet, before His own holiness? What do you think?