PARADISE

What comes to your mind when you think of the Garden of Eden? Paradise? A place of happiness and fulfillment? It is the vision of life in all its fullness. The Bible is book-ended by descriptions of the garden of God in Genesis 2 and  Revelation 22. It is hard for us to imagine what such a place could look like. Yet the Scriptures hold before us this place as both the beginning and the goal of our existence, the source of our origins and the objective of our destiny. Its description is meant to give substance to our hope and motivation to our aspiration. “No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:9,10)

We know that life is not perfect in this world and can never be so. Utopia is a false dream. Political attempts at utopian social engineering are bound to fail. Ideological blueprints may work in theory but never seem to succeed in human experience. There are too many variables to consider, too many unintended consequences to avoid. One man’s program becomes another’s burden. Tribal, racial and ethnic gains are always going to be with us in this world.  True equity is a chimera. One gains at the other’s expense. History teaches us that rivalries will always persist and migrations and conflict will always occur. The kingdom of God cannot be created on this earth – there has to be a new heaven and a new earth. Yet God has “set eternity in the hearts of men”.  (Ecclesiastes 3:11) So we yearn for a better world, as portrayed in Edward Hick’s paintings of The Peaceable Kingdom. His spiritual beliefs came from 18th century Quaker quietism which espoused simplicity, self-discipline and contact with the Inner Light or the Inner Spirit of Christ. His symbols of animals with children, William Penn and native Americans, were inspired by Isaiah’s prophecy:

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion will feed together; and a little child will lead them….They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea  (Isaiah 11:6-9).

St. Augustine described his conception of the spiritual landscape of Eden:

In Paradise then, man lived as he desired so long as he desired what God had commanded. He lived in the enjoyment of God, and was good by God’s goodness; he lived without any want, and had it in his power so to live eternally. He had food that he might not hunger, drink that he might not thirst, the tree of life that old age might not waste him. There was in his body no corruption, nor seed of corruption, which could produce in him any unpleasant sensation. He feared no inward disease, no outward accident. Soundest health blessed his body, absolute tranquility his soul. As in Paradise there was no excessive heat or cold, so its inhabitants were exempt from the vicissitudes of fear and desire. No sadness of any kind was there, nor any foolish joy; true gladness ceaselessly flowed from the presence of God, who was loved ‘out of a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned.’ The honest love of husband and wife made a sure harmony between them. Body and spirit worked harmoniously together, and the commandment was kept without labor. No languor made their leisure wearisome; no sleepiness interrupted their desire to labor. (The City of God, 14.26)

Do you have a conception of Paradise? If so, how does it compare with the description of the Garden of Eden or the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, in which the river of the water of life is bordered by the tree of life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2)? What does it tell us that can help us to find happiness and fulfillment in this present life?

The conclusion and crown of creation is described in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, are the subjects of God’s story. Man and Woman are special, exceptional, different from the rest of the animal kingdom. We are not just animals, survivors of the fittest species. We are not just biological machines, determined by our genes, and fashioned by our environment. We are created in the image and likeness of God. Yes, we are formed from the dust of the ground, and therefore share many characteristics with other creatures, but God has also created us by the breath of life. We are spirit as well as body. We have a high calling. We relate to God. If we want to fulfill our destiny we will discover and develop our spiritual nature as much as our physical being. “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). We attain true happiness and personal fulfillment when we are conscious of ourselves in relationship to God and discover the purpose for our creation. This is portrayed for us in the story of Adam and Eve.

The LORD God, first of all, takes the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Adam is given a vocation. He is to be the steward of the garden. He is given meaningful work. He works for God. He enjoys the fruit of his labor. Every man and woman needs a vocation – a calling from God to fulfill. We are created to take care of the world in which we live. That requires hard work and responsible management of our resources. There is no free lunch! We cannot expect to live off others. The Garden of Eden is not vacation-land. We have to pay rent for our time on earth. We cannot take without giving back in return.

When we have productive work that we enjoy we are happy and fulfilled. Unemployment, or under-employment, or meaningless employment, is soul-destroying. “That everyone may eat and drink and find satisfaction in his toil – this is the gift of God” (Eccl 3:13). When it is not so then it is “pain and grief” (Eccl 2:23).  To find a career, a job, a profession, an avocation, that suits you, in which your gifts can be used, is critical to personal fulfillment. To have been able to see your work, whether paid or volunteer, whether at home or in the community, as service to God, is to dignify it as a divine vocation. What a blessing it would be if all of us could see what we have done with our time on earth as working in the Garden of Eden, the place of the presence of God. If we see ourselves as spiritual beings we can do our work conscious of the presence of God. “Whatever you do, whether in word and deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). The workplace may not be the Garden of Eden but it can be a place of service and witness to God’s presence, as well as providing us with the means to support ourselves and our families.

This vision of God’s purpose in creation can sustain us in the midst of a world that is far from the Garden of Eden. We can see ourselves fulfilling God’s purpose, or we can lower our sights. True happiness is to be found in seeking first God’s kingdom and his righteousness (Matt 6:33).