Return to the Garden

The Garden. THOSE were the good ol' days but we never realized it. Those were the days before violence, before hatred and murder, anger and selfishness. There was no doubt, no knowledge of evil. No bloodshed no sickness, no suffering of any kind. All was only good, all the time. But it wasn't enough. We wanted more--more knowledge, more power, more experience, no limits. And so we traded perfection for these: Brokenness, thorns, pain, sadness, death, and the perversion of eve...rything good. The first humans chose this and we continue to choose it--surrounded by all the beauty and glory of God's creation, we choose independence from Him. We choose war and disregard Him who made it all for our good. We treat others, made in His image, worse than animals enslaving and selling children for vile pleasure. How far we've wandered away from the Garden! Claiming to be wise, we've become fools and exchanged the glory of God for corruptible, temporal pursuits! And yet there burns this spark of hope, this sense that things ought not be this way. We long for innocence for our children, safety for our sons and daughters, peace for our souls, a return to beauty. That's what God offers us in Christ--a one way ticket back to The Garden, back to Him. We can look at all that is happening around us and KNOW that we are on our way. This place is not our Home. This is how I am encouraging MYSELF today, June 16, 2015. There is hope, dear friends. There is hope for me and for you, for our children and grandchildren. We cannot fix this ourselves. No amount of cosmetic surgery or propping up of the broken system will make it better. Our job is to be a preservative of the good that remains and a light that points to the Only Solution. He is all. There is nothing else. Come quickly, Lord Jesus