The unbroken story of god

There is a longing deep within every human heart for perfection, flawlessness, pristine beauty. Harmony, peace, unrestricted joy. There is a longing for perfection. Though today, we are plagued with so much of the contrary, we still have a stubborn hope that perhaps things can be the way we so long for. Well there is a story that we believe to be true, that there once was a reality that met our deepest dreams. This reality was called: Eden.

This story is found in the Holy Bible. Most have mistaken this as an archaic document of religious codes and regulations. No, the bible tells the story of this longing and how God will fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts. We were made for perfection.

The Lord orchestrated a magnificent narrative in order to tell His story and to accomplish the deepest desire of His heart. There are many ways that the Lord could have chosen to reveal Himself, yet He chose to do so through the context of a story, and He has inserted Himself directly into the storyline as the main character.  Although the Bible does provide answers about humanity, who we are, and what our purpose is, this is not the primary story. The Bible is first and foremost about God revealing Himself, his desires, his passions, and his longing. The Lord makes known His intentions through the story of creation and through His plan for redemption. 

God has chosen to reveal himself through a storyline filled with weak and broken people who do not always get it right and actually have real sin and fall short. However, through this precise storyline, God chooses to reveal what He is like. God reveals His unending faithfulness in the midst of our lack of follow through. He reveals His mercy in the midst of our sin and failure. He reveals his steadfast love through his covenants. He reveals His power through the story of the Exodus. He reveals His great love through the work of the Cross and through His ultimate plan to redeem humanity and restore the earth back to that pristine, unhindered beauty (perfection).

The Story begins with God.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Gen. 1:1

For a moment, let’s reflect on the power of that one phrase because our story and the story of the Bible begins with God. Long before you or I were created, long before the earth was even formed, the Lord existed. Together with the Son and Holy Spirit, the Father dwelled in perfect unity within the trinity. Often, we are quick to jump to the parts in the story that are about us, how we fit in or what our ultimate purpose is, but we must remember that the Bible is first and foremost the story of God revealing himself to us. When we hear the phrase, “In the beginning was God,” several questions should come to mind. The very first question being who is God? What is God like? What are his desires? What is his purpose in telling his story? When was God’s beginning? What occurred in the time period before creation?

It is easy to forget that the story of God did not suddenly begin with the creation of Adam and Eve but for as long as God will continue to exist is as long as he has always existed. Our minds cannot comprehend the existence of an eternal God. It is too great for us, but this is where the story begins. The starting point is not with the crown of creation, Adam and Eve, but it is with the eternal God and understanding what his purpose is in creating the world.

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ… Eph. 1:4

When you hear the story of God, picture the Lord reaching back into the space before time began and into a place where our minds cannot comprehend and pulling it forward into the present. In other words, God did not wake up yesterday and decide to build an earthly kingdom and to create human beings. Instead, there is a connection to the eternal longing of God into the present moment as God forms the earth. The longing is so deep that the Lord knowing beforehand the complete story from beginning to end and the full extent of pain and betrayal he would experience from his creation, still chose to create Adam and Eve. The desire for relationship is far greater and more powerful than the pain the Lord would and is experiencing from his creation.

A common misunderstanding about God is that he is immune to pain or that he has not made himself vulnerable to pain. However, this is the farthest thing from the truth. The reality is anything we have ever experienced the Lord has also felt 1000 times over. To love someone is to be vulnerable.

The story of Eden is the revelation of God’s heart

The Lord has taken the first step in pursuing us and in first extending love to us. In today’s culture, many of the dating apps have implemented the “swipe right or left” feature that allows users to find potential matches by only showing you a list of people with mutual interest. In a way, it removes some of the risk of rejection because you never have to see the individuals who are not interested in you. However, the Lord has acted in the complete opposite spirit by choosing to reveal His heart first.

Misty Edward’s song “Arms Wide Open” paints a powerful picture of what God is like… arms wide open, hanging on a cross beam, heart fully exposed. He has taken the first step by pealing back the curtain of his heart to reveal Himself. The Lord knows full well that many will reject Him, yet he holds nothing back from us. Counter to our culture, the Lord is willing to take this risk because the reward is worth it. You are worth the risk. The Father is reaching his hand towards us and beckoning us into the experience of His heart. The Lord is revealing himself through the garden and through the story of creation.

The Lord has not stood at a distance but he has come very near to us. He tears the veil of his heart and says here I am. This is what I am like. Here is my heart fully revealed through the story of creation and developed throughout the story of the Bible. Look and behold who I am. Come and see and discover what I am like. Anyone can experience and know God in this way if we say “Yes” to pursuing and discovering him in the way that he wants to be known. (Isa. 55:1; Matt. 22:24)

The Lord created us in His own likeness so that we could know Him and respond to His heart.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:26-27

Made in the likeness of God means that we have the thumbprint of God upon our emotional DNA. The reason this is so important is because no other created being was made in the likeness of God. We are an eternal creature made to stand in partnership with God and to be able to interact with God. The ultimate glory of the human frame is that Jesus himself has selected the human body as his eternal form. There is no greater honor or dignity that God can place on a human than to know that he himself took on flesh and the Son of man is even now sitting at the right hand of the Father. Even more than the physicality of the human body, God has made us to be partners, brothers, and coheirs with His Son. We were created to partner with God in relationship and in ruling over the earth. We have the emotional capacity to interact and to relate to an eternal God. This is incredible and this is the type of relationship Adam and Eve shared with God.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3:2

God has elevated the creature to unimaginable glory. Humans are the image bearer made to reflect the glory and nature of God to the world. When we see the Lord revealed in glory with all of his holy angels, then our full purpose as sons and daughters made in the likeness of God will be revealed. We were created as the image bearer to reflect God’s beauty and glory as we behold his face.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen. 1:28

The Lord pronounced a blessing over His creation in saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.” In other words, the Lord is blessing his creational order and commanding a blessing over what he has just created to fill the earth. In essence, the Lord is saying let this very good thing, which I have created on the earth take root and flourish. Let it increase all over the face of the earth and let the man and woman I have created have dominion and authority over the earth through relationship and partnership.

Eden is a picture of what God intended his creation to be like and the perfection of his original design.

31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good… 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Gen. 1:31; 2:2

The Lord’s statement over creation is that it is very good and beautiful. In fact, there was no flaw or error in its design. It was perfect as it was created. Therefore, as we read and understand the story of redemption, let’s remember that God is trying to get us back to what he created in the garden. He is not going to take us away from the earth forever, but his plan is to restore the world back to his intended purpose in Eden. We often gloss over this idea in scripture, but when he created everything, He loved it and rejoiced in it, and we see in ch2: v 2 &3 that he even rested in it. His statement over his creation was that it was perfect! You couldn’t improve on it. He didn’t make a single mistake. He couldn’t have done a better job.

There was no sin, no sickness, no pain, and no sorrow in Eden. Humans were created to live forever. Even death was not part of the human experience in Eden and the deepest longings of the human heart were fulfilled in Eden. It is hard to imagine a world like this, but it was the reality of Eden. Eden should be understood as idyllic picture of perfection where God and humanity walked together.

Kathi DeCanio once summarized this by describing the motive to be a story of the Father who wanted a family, of the Son who wanted a Bride, and the Holy Spirit who longed to infuse a people with his power by dwelling within a people to bring creation together with creator. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always existed in perfection and lacked nothing, yet there was a desire hidden within God from eternity past – a longing for friendship – for a family, for a bride, and for a dwelling place. He WANTED to share this inexhaustible love, to invite creatures made in his likeness—his image, into this eternal exchange of love.

The Holy Spirit desires a dwelling place.

The garden of Eden is the first picture of God abiding on earth with humanity. Before turning to any other verse, let’s read what’s written in Genesis as it describes Adam and Eve’s interaction with God.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… Gen. 3:8.

Adam and Eve were able to interact with God in their human bodies and to speak with him face to face. Furthermore, we see similarities in the description of Eden to how the New Jerusalem is described in Revelation 22. Specifically, the tree of life that was in Eden is also the tree of life in the New Jerusalem (Gen 2:9, 3:24; Rev. 22:2). This gives credence to the idea that the garden of Eden was more than just a garden, but it was a resting place and a tabernacle for God’s presence to dwell in.

The Father desires a family.

The Bible is full of verses that describe the Lord as our Father, but it is important to note that this truth has been in God’s heart since before time existed. Hidden deep within the Lord’s heart, was a burning desire for a family. He desires fellowship and friendship with us in the same way that the Father loves His Son Jesus, He loves us as His sons and daughters.

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will (Eph. 1:4-5).

The Father saw ahead of time the full story of creation from beginning to end. In His infinite wisdom, God knows who will respond and who will reject Him. However, this does not override the choice of freewill, but the Bible is emphasizing that the plan for creation was fully thought through even before the earth was created. As the Lord created Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden, the longing for family was at the forefront of His mind. He carefully created everything necessary to sustain life on earth. Just as a loving Father and Mother would carefully construct a safe place for their family and want to take care of their family, in the same way, the Lord has done this for us as our Father. He has left no detail unturned but with careful calculation and intentionality, He created the earth and Eden for us.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are (1 John 3:1).

Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began (Greek: before times eternal) (2 Tim. 1:9).

The Son desires a bride.

As we mentioned earlier, the Lord uses stories and illustrations to reveal key principles and to communicate the desires of His heart to us. The Lord created Eve because it was not good for man to be alone, but the relationship shared between Adam and Eve is not limited to this reality only.

Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Gen. 2:24).

In fact, in Ephesians 5:31-32, Paul says “this mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Through the first picture of marriage between Adam and Eve, God is showing us the type of relationship He desires to share with us.

31“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church (Eph. 5:31-32).

As with the example of family, I know many of us have not seen a very good representation of what these types of relationships should be like, but in its original design, the Lord created marriage as a context for love, safety, and family. As we will see in Revelation 19:6-9, the grand finale of scripture culminates with the great wedding supper of the Lamb. The Bible is propelling human history towards a wedding; it is the wedding of the King, and we are His Bride. The first two chapters of the Bible and the last two chapters are bookends to God’s story. The first two chapters begin with the perfection of Eden, and the last two chapters end with the reestablishment of God’s dwelling back on earth. All of the chapters in between explain the process of how God will restore the earth back to what he originally intended for his creation.

The most exciting part is that the story is still unfolding, and it has not been completed. We are living in the storyline and awaiting the final conclusion. As the drama unfolds, it becomes the greatest story ever told, and it is our story. It is the story of God and His purposes for humanity, and it is the story of how we fit into God’s plan. However, a great tragedy occurred in the midst of this once flawless reality, what is known as “the fall”. But there is hope because Our Father, Our Bridegroom, and the living flame of love are more committed to us than we have been to him.