+JMJ
There was a time when we were so close to the Lord that we lived in the Garden with Him. I was mediating on the Fall of Adam and Eve, and was so drawn to that closeness they had with Him. I imagine how Adam would have spent time in the garden with the Lord, walking and talking. But then the enemy prowled around and brought about the fall. I placed myself in the garden of Eden, watching it play out.
The Garden of Eden
And He said to him, “And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat?”
And Adam said, “The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat.”
And the Lord God said to the woman, “Why hast thou done this?”
And she answered, “The serpent deceived me, and I did eat.”
And the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” -Genesis 3:11-15
My Contemplation
“Who told you that you were naked?” The Lord asks.
I feel a gentleness here from the Lord. A compassionate plea and an ache from His tender heart. The painful wound He sustained from the actions of Adam and Eve. The pain the Lord felt at having to expel Adam and Eve from the garden. The anguish He felt at their abandonment.
The Lord saw this first sin as He agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, and it oppressed Him. Causing Him such anguish as to make Him fall to the ground in despair. The weight of the pain of this sin crushing His heart.
I then stand before Him in the garden of Gethsemane. I look shamefully at my feet wringing my fingers in my hands. I steal a glance at my Lord who says in despair, “Why have you done this?”
All my sins are set before Him, “Why have you done this?” He asks so sorrowful and broken hearted.
“Why have you done this?” Tears falling silently down His cheeks, His heart feeling anguished at my abandonment of Him, there in that Garden of Agony.
I feel the intense desire to hide from Him. Just like Adam and Eve hid themselves in the Garden of Eden, listening to the Lord walk through calling for them. But when I steal another glance at Him, He invites me to Him, to be embraced and comforted by Him, and I feel His complete love and peace.
The Call To His Heart
I was walking through my garden the other evening. Most of my flowers are blooming, and put so much joy in my heart. I imagine the Lord walked with Adam in this way in the evening. Taking in the beauty they had cultivated in the day’s work. Then the words come to me “Why have you done this?” I often ignore His pain in the garden and reject His word…. The Word… the word that walked with Adam in the evenings, and so desires to walk with me in peace, love, and truth.
The Lord calls me to His tender loving heart in this moment. He desires me not to hide in the garden with my sins anymore, which cause such agony to Him, and to myself, but instead to come to Him in the Garden to be freed from them. The garden of agony turned into a garden of joy.
Thrive in Jesus, my Friends!
What sins can you place at the feet of the Lord? How can you embrace Him more deeply today?
New to my blog? Start here!