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"The Gardens"
We have seen in nature that God makes His creatures suited for the environment they will inhabit. A fish has gills, a bird has wings, and polar bear has deep fur.
Man was made for the garden… the garden where people do not hurt each other, where illness does not rob you of a loved one… the garden where one does not have to struggle to put food on the table.
Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…
We do not have gills to live in water, nor do we have wings to live in the air. So it should not seem strange when we feel out of place in a world filled with sin, we were not made for this environment. We cry out like we are a fish washed up on shore… “I can’t breathe!”
But there awaits for us a new garden… so beautiful that the description overwhelms our ability to even imagine it. Transparent gold streets, gem laden gates, and most important the presence of the Lord returns in majesty.
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.
Reflections:
1. Do you ever feel like a stranger to this world? How?
2. What comfort does the “garden” yet to come give you?
We have seen in nature that God makes His creatures suited for the environment they will inhabit. A fish has gills, a bird has wings, and polar bear has deep fur.
Man was made for the garden… the garden where people do not hurt each other, where illness does not rob you of a loved one… the garden where one does not have to struggle to put food on the table.
Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…
We do not have gills to live in water, nor do we have wings to live in the air. So it should not seem strange when we feel out of place in a world filled with sin, we were not made for this environment. We cry out like we are a fish washed up on shore… “I can’t breathe!”
But there awaits for us a new garden… so beautiful that the description overwhelms our ability to even imagine it. Transparent gold streets, gem laden gates, and most important the presence of the Lord returns in majesty.
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.
Reflections:
1. Do you ever feel like a stranger to this world? How?
2. What comfort does the “garden” yet to come give you?
Scripture
About this Plan
Jesus taught us that to follow him, we must often live opposite to our culture; he turned the rules upside down. This 12 day devotional dives into what it means to live Upside Down in a kingdom that isn't definied by race, status, circumstance, gender, or geography, but by a love of Christ. Can we really live a life surrendered to the prayer "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?
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