https://odb.org/2023/10/20/in-the-garden-3
Most of us would have heard about the Garden of Eden even if we were not yet in the faith. There is a creation story in most cultures and civilisations. Except that in the biblical one, perhaps the difference is that it shows what it would have been if sin had not crashed in. It is a picture of perfection where humans lived in complete harmony with nature, only to be later shattered by sin. In Eden, man need not toil the ground. The ground itself produces all man needed to live – food for nourishment, beauty for the senses, and peace for the soul.
While sin and Satan broke that beautiful picture and led to man being banished out of Eden, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, mended our relationship with God and reconciled man back to God. He broke the veil.
We still live in this broken world with war, tears, and sorrow, and where the ground is still cursed. We need to toil hard for its produce, but most importantly, we are denied access to the tree of life. Our human bodies will die and rot away, returning to earth – from dust to dust. But the day will come when we who are in the faith, who believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Lamb of God who died for our sins, will get to live in Eden recreated in the new heaven and new earth. We will be in our glorified bodies and will then be able to partake of the tree of life. The ground will no longer be cursed. No more tears and sorrow and death. No more wars. Our souls will be at peace.
It’s not a dream or a fantasy. It’s a reality that we will possess one day if we hold on tightly to the faith and live a life of righteousness. We who already have our names written in the book of life need to make sure our names remain there until the end of time. Salvation may be by the grace of God by faith, meaning that we can not on our strength and virtue work for our salvation. But as humans with free will, we may lose it if we persistently ignore or go against Him. Don’t be Adam reincarnated.
Ronnie's Thoughts 