By RaeLynn DeAngelis
I was only twenty-years-old when my husband and I got married. It’s hard to believe that was 40 years ago.
Some of our wedding anniversaries have attracted more attention than others. On our 1st anniversary, we broke out the obligatory cake topper from the freezer and had a feast. On our 10th anniversary, we took a weekend trip to Little Nashville; it was our first overnight without the kids. Our 25th anniversary, however, garnered the grandest celebration yet. We enjoyed a two-week trip to Paris, France.
I remember the trip like it was yesterday. We enjoyed all the tourist hot spots, including a fancy dinner atop the Eiffel Tower on the actual date of our anniversary. Our favorite excursions were guided tours of castles several hundred years old. The stone structures were grand. Some were surrounded by moats, others by enchanting gardens.
Nature has a way of filling a void you didn’t realize you had until it has been satisfied. Gardens have been calling out to the spirit of mankind with their vibrant colors and enchanting aromas since the beginning of time.
I was recently reminded of the very first garden.
“Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:11-12).
How fitting that the very first garden was planted by God Himself. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement; it was beautiful beyond description. And it was right there in the Garden of Eden that God planted His most spectacular creation of all—mankind.
“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).
Eden was like a little piece of heaven on earth. But sadly, after Adam and Eve sinned, mankind was cast from the Garden.
“To Adam [God] said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17-19).
Although mankind was banished from Eden, God’s plan (the plan to have us dwell with Him forever) never changed. Thus began God’s rescue plan, His plan to take us back to the Garden.
While I was thinking about that first garden, God reminded me of another garden.
“At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid” (John 19:41).
Jesus was not just buried in this garden—He rose from this garden grave to give us new life.
“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot” (John 15:11-12).
It was in the first garden (Eden) that life turned into death. But amazingly, it was in the second garden (the Garden Tomb) that death turned into life.
Halleluiah! Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we now have the hope of eternal life in heaven with our Creator. A life where we will once again enjoy the heavenly space from which all earthly gardens are patterned.
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).
Deep within our spirit, there is a longing for what was, for what is, and for what will be again. Life turns into death. Death turns into life. What a glorious and wonderous mystery of God.
Looking for a way to connect with God daily? Check out our daily devotional books: Living in Truth Day by Day *** Living in Truth Mind, Body, Spirit *** Living in Truth: A Christmas Devotional