In the garden
Marigolds, one of the few plants that succeeded this year.
As I sit in my little garden and meditate on the goodness of God, I can’t help but be reminded of the gardens in the Bible.
It’s where it all began, and ultimately where it ended. In the beginning God created everything, and in the midst of all He created, there it was, The Garden of Eden. A place where He could meet in the cool of the day with His beloved creation. God didn’t have to make any of it, didn’t have to create humans but He longed for relationship. Shocking right? Even the angels couldn’t give Him what He desired. Adam and Eve were His prized possession, finally His plan put into action. It wasn’t long though before we see this beautiful place — a place created to dwell in with peace and harmony— became a place where sin would enter and ultimately start a cycle of lost relationships with God. As you go throughout the Old Testament and into the New, you see the lasting effects of sin that started in that garden. Gods people repetitively falling away due to sin, but God was and still is so merciful! So merciful that He decided to robe Himself in flesh and come as the man Jesus to deliver us from sin once and for all. He came to die for us. He was beaten, He was bruised, He was rejected by His own, nailed to a cross, all for us. But did it really end at the cross, I don’t believe so. You see, Jesus being 100% flesh and human still felt everything we do. He felt anxiety, he felt the feeling of impending doom that many of us would fall prey to. I believe that for Jesus, it ended in the garden, a place where it started. The Garden of Gathsemene was a place where He would go pray. Right before it was time for Him to die, He would fall to His knees and pray ferverently asking God to take this cup from Him. What did that mean? It meant that the human side of Him wanted out, He knew what was about to happen. However the words He says next show that right there in that moment, it was done, it was the end. “…nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.” Luke 22:42
Right there He died out to His flesh. The struggle of the will of man and the will of the Spirit was over. The decision was made and because of this very pivotal moment He was able to go forth and die physically so that you and I could live a life free from sin. Thank you Jesus. As we go about our day today, let us ask God to help us learn how to die out to our flesh. Jesus wants nothing more to be in relationship with us, and it takes us making that decision to pursue Him daily.