EDENIFICATION

 

GOD AND GARDENS

I love beautiful gardens. Although I appreciate walking through a temperate rain forest and admiring the natural flora, I especially appreciate a well-planted and maintained garden. And it seems that so does God. Throughout the Scriptures, garden language is used to describe God’s presence and blessing. This is powerfully seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And even after mankind fell from innocence and was expelled from God’s garden paradise, Eden, God’s original “Creation Mandate” still summoned mankind to Edenify the earth. Ultimately, in the new heaven/earth God’s dwelling place with mankind is described as being in a garden (Rev. 22:1-5). In fact, it seems that God went to great lengths to ensure that the earth could indeed be Edenified. Because, after God had created the universe, and He focused on our extraordinary planet, He designed our planet to have the unique qualities making lush gardens possible:

* a finely-tuned gaseous atmosphere;
* a perfectly tuned gravitational rate (9m/sec);
* a biosphere that ensures symbiotic replenishing;
* a water to land ratio which distinguished saltwater from fresh-water;
* water in three states (including icy snow-capped mountains located strategically around our planet near the equator ensuring a continuous supply of melting-ice fresh water);
* tectonic plates which help to distribute nutrients ;
* microbial life;
* sea life;
* volcanic and earthquake activity distributing minerals into the food chain and precious metals nearer to earth’s surface;

He then reserved a special mountain-top field where He planted a garden. It was a life-giving garden with  many fruit trees, a stream of mountain fresh water flowing through it (that would eventually flow down the Edenic Mountain and become four rivers – Gen. 2:10).  

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and there He put the man whom He had formed.
Genesis 2:8

Into this divinely planted garden the Lord brought the man. This was a garden that God loved. He charged ’Adam — His image-bearer —  with the privilege of tending it, for it was a mystical garden. It had at least two supernatural trees and welcomed many supernatural heavenly beings, including the Lord Himself, as regular visitors. It seems that God was showing ’Adam that this is what He wanted him to do to the rest of the planet – to Edenify it.

¶ The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Genesis 2:15

 

GOD CREATED MAN TO BE A GARDENER

Not only was the Lord a regular visitor to the garden He had planted (as intimated in Genesis 3:8), but even after mankind were expelled from Eden’s divine garden, gardens (and mountain-top gardens in particular) became associated with man meeting and walking with God. Even after Eden it seems that God loved to be associated with gardens and His blessing upon a land is frequently described in horticultural terms.

For the LORD comforts Zion;
He comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Isaiah 51:3

JESUS, MOUNTAINS & GARDENS

Perhaps this is no more apparent than in the life of the incarnated Christ. He often met with His Father in a garden at the top of the Mount of Olives called Gethsemane – and especially as He approached His cross (Luke 22:40-46).

¶ Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to his disciples,
“Sit here, while I go over there and pray.”
Matthew 26:36

And it was not without significance that when the body of Christ was buried it was buried in a garden tomb.

Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
John 19:41

 

BUT WILDERNESS

If gardens are symbolic of God’s presence and blessing, wilderness, barrenness, deserts are symbolic of the devil and his presence. 

¶ Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 4:1

But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel (the devil) shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel (the devil).
Leviticus 16:10

EDENIFICATION

But God’s original “Creation Mandate” for mankind was to take dominion over creation (Gen. 1:28-30). God introduced mankind to what this looked by bringing him into the garden He had planted on Mount Eden. It was a holy garden. In one sense Eden was a temple because a temple is where God dwells, and God and man can meet. This is actually an apt description of Eden. But if this is the case, then it might reveal that God not only wanted ’Adam to make the earth like Eden – a lush, fruitful, garden paradise – but also where people anywhere on earth could meet with God. Therefore, Edenifying, is not just about planting and maintaining (a) beautiful garden/s, it’s also about introducing people to God, so that they too can be reconciled to God and meet regularly with Him wherever they are. This is why I hope that our world increasingly experiences Edenification. And I hope that both aspects of this Edenification might be evident around our church grounds, our church’s 300 or so ambassadors, and especially from our pulpit for generations to come.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Revelation 2:7

 

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

WHY MEN ARE STRONG AND WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL

 [The glory of a man his strength. The glory of a woman is her beauty.]

¶ Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
First Corinthians 16:13

So they sought for a beautiful young woman throughout all the territory of Israel,
and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
First Kings 1:3

God has created men with the capacity to be physically stronger than a woman. The design of the average man reveals that his arm and leg bones are designed differently to that of a woman and enabled to support longer, denser, and more muscle mass.

“I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in His ways and keeping his statutes, His commandments, His rules, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn
First Kings 2:2-3

But God desires a man’s physical strength to be harnessed for the good and welfare of others — especially women. A man is not to use his strength for evil purposes such as for the malicious violence toward others. Therefore, while most men are physically stronger than most women, a man’s true strength is displayed when he harnesses that strength for the good of others. This requires self-discipline which is also a measure of man’s strength as evidenced by King David’s charge to his son Solomon as prepared to succeed his father (1Kings 2:2-3). As a man ages he is to learn that true strength is not merely determined by physical capacity but is also exercised by increased wisdom (Prov. 20:29). 

The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendour of old men is their gray hair.
Proverbs 20:29

 A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might
Proverbs 24:5

THE PERFECT MAN’S BODY

Jesus Christ was the perfect man. He would have been physically strong with a well-toned body. Apart from a couple of donkey rides, Jesus travelled up and down and across Israel on foot. He spent the best part of His first thirty years as a carpenter who probably had to cut the trees from which He would mill the timber He needed to ply His trade as a wood craftsman. Cutting down the necessary trees, cutting them to size, and transporting them to where He would work on them would have been heavy manual labour which would have caused Him to grow stronger physically (Luke 2:52).

I write to you, fathers,
because you know Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
First John 2:14

Jesus Christ was the perfect example of harnessed strength. He used His physical strength for the good and welfare of others — particularly when He entered into the intense phase of His passion (the week leading up to the Cross) (Matt. 26:53). Throughout His ministry He complemented His physical strength with courage. I am particularly impressed by the way He stood up to the mob of the scribes and Pharisees as they were humiliating the defenceless woman (John 8:2-11). I am also impressed that after He was beaten and physically abused by the Roman soldiers in which He suffered massive blood loss and would have been in tremendous pain, that He was still somehow able to carry and drag a huge splintery wooden cross, which probably weighed around forty kilos, at least part of the way out of Jerusalem — and was then manly enough to accept the help of another man (Simon of Cyrene) to carry it the rest of the way up to Golgotha. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of a strong man.

 

THE IDEAL WOMAN’S BODY

God has perfectly designed the female body and made it beautiful. It might be true that a woman is attracted to a strong man (especially one strong enough to make her feel secure), but it is definitely true that a man is attracted to a beautiful woman. And it seems that most women really appreciate a man’s admiration of her beauty. And God has also perfectly designed a woman’s body to nurture. This means that her skeletal structure is designed to support adequate muscle mass to nurture, and there are aspects to her design that make her quite distinct from a man’s body. But there is an insidious evil that seeks to particularly attack a woman and distort her appreciation for how the Creator has made her. This insidiousness is promoted in many of the recent crop of female heroines (super-heroines excepted for the moment) portrayed in Hollywood movies where a one hundred fifty three centre-metre, forty-five kilo, underwear model is seen fighting off a one hundred and ninety three centre-metre, one hundred and thirty kilo ex-Navy Seal by punching him across a room. This kind of nonsense sends a terrible message to a woman about her inadequacy to be equal to a man when it comes to physical strength.

I recently heard one woman talking about this distortion of a woman’s feminine worth by stating that it sends a not so subtle message that a woman is physically defective because she is not a man — that is, a woman is defective in some way because she does not possess the natural physical strength of a man. This alleged defectiveness seems to me to be further perpetuated to young women in particular who hear the evil one’s accusations of their supposed defectiveness in their heads when it falsely tells them:

“Your hair is not the right colour.”

“Your fingernails are not long or bright enough.”

“Your eye lashes are not long or lush or curled enough.”

“Your lips are too thin.”

“Your breasts are not shapely enough.”

“Your waist is not small enough.”

“Your legs are not tanned enough.”

I’m not suggesting that a woman should not present herself well with attractive clothing, hair, or make-up, but I would like to encourage women not to see themselves as defective in some way and therefore in need of unnecessary artificiality. There is already something quite intrinsically beautiful about a woman without any artificiality. True beauty is not entirely about a woman’s appearance. The beauty of a woman’s soul becomes readily evident even when her appearance has been damaged through a physical tragedy such as fire.  

OUR BODIES MATTER

Most of us would like to have a healthy, functional, body. If you do, you are blessed. It’s usually in those moments when we go through sickness, injury, or disease, that we gain an increased appreciation for those times we enjoyed good health that, at the time, we took for granted. Sadly though, not everyone enjoys good health. Some diseases linger. Some injuries don’t recover. And some people are not graced with what most of us consider ordinary. Sometimes these illnesses effect a person’s physical appearance. But even when that happens, we must recognise that our bodies are wonderful gifts from God for which we need to be grateful and to steward with care.

[Christians should not regard themselves as “souls with a body”. Rather, we need to accept that the Bible describes us as body-spirit units.]

If you haven’t read Professor Nancy Pearcey’s book, Love Thy Neighbor, I hope you will. She makes a convincing case that we need to regard our bodies as: (i) God’s good design for each of us; and, (ii) God’s good biological gendering of each of us as either male or female is intrinsic to our identity. She also makes two rather profound points about God’s gift to us of our bodies. Firstly, male and female bodies are different for good reasons and these differences should be celebrated not denigrated. Thus, care needs to taken in understanding what it means to be “a man” and what it means to be “a woman”. Our sexual identity as either male or female is derived from our biology not from artificial stereotypes. These artificial stereotypes may present true manliness as being a tall, well-built, ruggedly handsome, testosterone charged man who hunts, fishes, and slays dragons; and, true femininity as a woman in her twenties with an hour-glass figure, long flowing hair, eye-lashes that could keep her feet dry, make-up that is always photo-ready, an over inflated sexual appetite, a gifted mother of six perfectly behaved children, and a wiz in the kitchen. The reality is that some strong men like to knit and some very beautiful women like to do carpentry! 

 

WHAT TWO ANCIENT MYTHS TEACH US ABOUT BEING A STRONG MAN AND BEING A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN

There is an ancient Christian myth that originate from the second century that tells of a small village outside of Jerusalem in the late first century that was being assailed by a dragon. The dragon would ravage the villagers’ livestock and crops causing great devastation. It refused to stop its assault until it was appeased by a human sacrifice. The villagers were terrified by the dragon. Then one day a brave woman from the village said to herself that this must stop and she would offer herself to the dragon. Armed with nothing but a crucifix in her hand as she held up as she approached the dragon, she bravely entered into the dragon’s mouth. But once in the mouth she then shoved the crucifix in her hand down its gullet. The dragon struggled to breath and soon vomited the woman out of its mouth but was unable to dislodge the fatal crucifix. Once she was spewed out of the dragon’s mouth she grabbed that the now asphyxiating dragon’s tail and dragged it back the village for the men of the village to finally dispatch. This is the myth of Saint Martha (who is featured in John 11).

The second myth comes about a thousand years later and also involves a dragon. One day a knight, Sir George, was passing through a devastated village and enquired of the villagers what had caused such terrible damage. The villages told the knight that it was a dragon and that this dragon could only be appeased by human sacrifice. At this point a young girl stepped forward and told the knight that she had offered to be the sacrifice to the dragon but the men of the village did not allow her to be so. Sir George scolded the men of the village for coming up with an alternative solution to this brave young girl’s offer and then declared that he would go out and meet the dragon. Armed with sword and lance George approached the smug dragon who lunged at him with mouth wide open. With the skill of a battle-hardened warrior George took his lance and drove it up through the inside of the dragon’s mouth. The dragon was now dead and the village was now at peace once again.

These two ancient myths describe a similar problem and a similar solution – except that the myth of St. Martha depicts how a woman’s wiles dealt with the problem and the myth of St. George depicts how a man’s strengths dealt with the problem. 

 

STRENGTH AND BEAUTY LESSONS

     The Bible places an extremely high value on our physical bodies and foretells that even in the resurrection we will live on as immortal physical beings. The Bible reveals that Satan wants us to hate our bodies — and he particularly wants women to hate theirs! The Bible describes how God had given men the capacity for greater physical strength which must be harnessed by wisdom, courage and virtue. The Bible also describes how God has made all women beautiful and that women must learn to harness their beauty with modesty, wisdom, and valour. Ultimately, a man’s strength and a woman’s beauty are both reflections of the aspects of the image of God that men and women share so that world might know that God is all-powerful and all-glorious. Let’s celebrate this!

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

IT’S TRUE. IT’S GOOD. IT’S BEAUTIFUL.

Christianity is true, good, and beautiful. We can know that it’s true; experience that it’s good; and observe that it’s beautiful. We can do this because we have all been designed to seek truth and accept it. We have been created to be agents of good and to celebrate it when we are the recipients of it. We are made to admire the beautiful and to beautify. These statements are so because the world is the creation of the God who is true, good and beautiful and we are created in the image of this God. Yet there are now people who are now attacking Christianity as evil because they don’t like God or His Laws.

¶ Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalm 34:8

IT’S TRUE.

There is no evidence that Goldilocks and the three bears ever existed. But if someone should claim that it was a true story we could apply certain truth-tests to its claims to conclude that it is a fictional fable. Do bears make porridge? Do bears build cabins in the woods? Do bears insist on sleeping on mattresses? The answers to these questions would lead us to the conclusion that the story of Goldilocks and The Three Bears is simply a delightful children’s story that someone invented. 

¶ In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
Luke 2:1-3

But the historical accounts of Jesus of Nazareth are completely different. In Luke’s Gospel he gives precise historical details such as the names of the particular Roman Emperors and officials who were reigning at the time. He gave even more verifiable historical details in his account of the early church, Acts. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers in 54AD in which many scholars recognise that he quotes from Luke’s Gospel. This indicates that Luke’s Gospel account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth was in circulation by 54AD which meant that if his historical accounts were false they could have been refuted by any number of his contemporaries.

¶ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
First Corinthians 15:1-8

The accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth are attested to by the sheer number of ancient manuscripts dating back to the first few centuries AD. Most recently a fragment of the Gospel of Mark was found in Egypt in what archaeologists describe as a first-century rubbish dump. It is a copy of a copy of a copy. (That demonstrates how widely the original copies were in wide circulation.) This Gospel fragment is conservatively dated to 150AD but some experts are dating it as early as 80AD [Source]. The significance of this fragment is enormous. It adds to the growing body of evidence that puts pay to the claim that the Gospels didn’t originate until the late second century and beyond. It also proves how reliable our modern manuscripts are compared with the oldest known manuscripts which confirms just how carefully the original copyists undertook their sacred task. 

The claims of Christianity centring on the historical truthfulness of the life, teaching, miracles, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth are verifiable and therefore valid. As sufficient as this is for religious conversion and devotion, it is not the only thing appealing about Christianity. Christianity is good.

IT’S GOOD.

Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
First Corinthians 10:24

The impact for good of Christ and His followers on the world is virtually inestimable. This doesn’t just include the history of care for the ostracised and diseased, the education and housing relief for the poor and under-privileged, the establishment of refuges and orphanages, and the crisis relief agencies such as Red Cross and World Vision, it also includes the spontaneous acts of good that have gone on largely unnoticed. For the early Second Century, Christians were going into the town squares, forests, and by-ways where unwanted baby girls were dumped in the middle of the night to suffer the ravages of freezing nights (known as “exposure”) and ravenous wolves. These baby girls were raised by these Christian families as if they were their own children. Eventually their kindness toward these unwanted baby girls changed the Roman cultural view of the practice of exposure to regarding it as a Barbaric practice! 

¶ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Romans 12:9

Billy Graham asked Dawson Trotman to oversee the follow-up of new believers at his crusades

This tradition of Christian goodness still lives on today in both public and unnoticed ways. Following Christ has inspired some of the greatest acts of supererogatory behaviour the world has ever seen. If you have never heard of Dawson Trotman (who founded the Navigators) do yourself a favour and read a biography of his very short life and marvel at why it was so short. 

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:21

All of these supererogatory acts were inspired by the selfless goodness of Jesus the Christ. Of course there have been people who identified as Christians do some bad things, but in order to do so they had to violate the teaching and example of our Lord! Christianity is demonstrably good. But this is not the only appeal it has. It is also beautiful.

IT’S BEAUTIFUL.

In C.S. Lewis’s book, The Abolition of Man, he argues against those who claim that there is no such thing as beauty. A beautiful waterfall in a rainforest, he argues, is not merely a collection of hydrogen and oxygen molecules being subject to gravity. It actually is beautiful. Beauty evokes a sense of pleasure. It causes us to admire. We are created to find beauty appealing and satisfying. Things can be beautiful. People can be beautiful. Stories can be beautiful. Acts of sacrifice can be beautiful especially when motivated by selfless love – and there is no greater example of this than the story that lies at the heart of Christianity.

Liffey Falls, Tasmania. https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/about/insider-guides/waterfalls-of-tasmania

¶ One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in His temple.
Psalm 27:4

The word ‘beauty’ occurs 18 times in one of the most mysterious books of the Bible. In many respects, the story within The Song of Songs, is a microcosm of the Bible’s whole story. It is a love story. It commences with a beautiful garden scene of idyllic intimacy which is then interrupted by an unwelcome intruder who, in the absence of her protector-betrothed, enslaves her and takes her captive. What ensues is a selfless rescue plan which culminates in a glorious reunion and a magnificent marriage [watch]. This account is a shadow of the larger metanarrative in the Bible which describes the beautiful idyllic Garden of Eden setting where God, Adam and Eve, celebrated their mutual love. But then the Intruder came and drove a wedge between the lovers. The Bible then unfolds the patient rescue plan of God culminating in Him becoming a human who gave His life as a substitute for those condemned to death, climaxing in a magnificent reunion and marriage in an eternal paradise. It’s a beautiful story that lies at the heart of the Christian story.  

Because beauty is so integral to Christianity, traditional church buildings were built to be beautiful inside and out. Little wonder then that some of the world’s great art has been inspired by the beauty of the Christian story. But perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the Christian story is not merely in its telling, but in how magnificently it has transformed the lives of those whom Christ has rescued and redeemed. And I should know because I am one of them.

Pastor Andrew.