One morning or evening when the breeze was blowing gently, God took a walk in the garden He had made.
I wonder how often this happened in Eden.
It must have been a source of great pleasure for God, for Adam, and for Eve. No doubt, the man and woman often joined God for this stroll and engaged in sweet fellowship, conversation, and precious quietness as they walked among the trees and flowers and stopped, from time to time, to taste some luscious fruit.
Maybe that is why some have referred to Eden as Paradise.
Jesus defined it as the place where the thief on the cross would be with Him.
Walking with God in the gardens of our lives in the cool breezes of the day or early evening is the most sublime of all activities. It is the most precious of all moments. It is the fellowship that defines fellowship.
Yet, on this day, God strolled alone, seeking the man and the woman.
“Where are you?”
They were hiding. They were ashamed. They were naked. They were stained with the guilt and stain of disobedience, alienated from the One they desired most.
Their eyes were opened, but not as they had hoped. Their wills had been freely exercised, but only to limit their options. They had taken their last stroll with God through the garden of Eden.
It broke their hearts and it broke the heart of God.
This, however, does not end the story. Redemption, reconciliation, resurrection of the life that has died; these have renewed our possibility for fellowship with God.
We can, again, stroll through the gardens of our souls with Him in the cool of the day. And in that breeze, we can find refreshment for our spirits. God is still seeking us out, calling us to faith in Him through Jesus Christ, so that today we can be with Him in a Paradise that the a preview of the Paradise to come.
Art: Jan Breughel, the Elder, ca. 1568-1625: The Garden of Eden, 1612.
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