Beauty out of tragedy

https://odb.org/2025/09/26/beauty-out-of-tragedy

Genesis 2:8–9 (NIV): 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:1–6 (NIV): 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

In the beginning, God created the Garden of Eden for man to live in and take care. Eden had everything that humankind ever needed – unpolluted air, streams of water, fruits and vegetation for food, dominion over the animals, and birds of the air, the tree of life (ensuring immortality) and most importantly, the presence and in-dwelling of God Himself. Adam and Eve were in direct contact and interaction with the LORD then.

Tragedy occurred when Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceived Adam and Eve by first planting doubt in their minds as to the consequences of eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan also planted the idea that they could be like God if they ate the fruit. As the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat. So they ate of the fruit and committed the first sin that got them banished from Eden.

God had to send His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to the world to die for our sins so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 paraphrased). In Revelation 21, the new heaven and new earth were revealed to John as the hope of our glory that one day, those of us whose names are written in the Book of Life will inherit our place in this new heaven and new earth. This is Eden recreated and is the mansion of many rooms that Jesus had gone ahead to prepare for us. Like the first Eden, God will dwell amongst His people. With there being sin no more, there will not be tears, sorrow, and sadness. The tragedy of Eden will be turned into joy at the end of the age.

The promise of God today that we can cling on to is the new heaven and new earth at the end of time if we remain faithful to the very end.

In the meantime, there is a sense that He is able and will turn our own tragedies into places of beauty. A beautiful and fruitful tree with fruits and flowers in full bloom will be birthed from the tombstones of our sad episodes of life. He will turn our mourning into joy. From the dark and frigid winter, God will bring the beautiful colours of spring into our lives. We will once again experience His presence even as He dwells in the praises of His people. His promise for us is beauty out of tragedy, even as we remain faithful in serving Him and fulfilling His plans and purposes for our lives!