- Genesis 2:4b-25
- Revelation 22:1-5
Early Thoughts: The faith story begins and ends in a garden. What does that mean?
Normally we are told that the faith story begins and ends in paradise. Turns out that paradise is a garden?
In their book Saving Paradise Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker begin by talking about how the ancient world envisioned paradise. I need to reread the first chapter or two this week but I seem to recall that the term paradise was also linked to a walled garden. So maybe the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were another attempt to create paradise?
And maybe this is why gardens are such a part of British culture? We link the garden not to labour (although certainly a garden means work--even if you are able to pay others to do it) but to rest and ease and paradise. Grand estates would have great gardens.
We come from the garden, the story tells us. We will return to the garden, the story tells us. I wonder if the garden is always with us in some form. "they who have eyes to see...." after all.
Where do you find God's Garden in your life?
--Gord
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