Eden - The Center of God's Will

The Garden of Eden - a place created especially for Adam & Eve, a place of indescribable beauty and unmistakable pleasure – Here, Adam & Eve were free to enjoy the best of God’s creation under His provision and protection. This was paradise created by God for them, out of His good will and for His good pleasure. When he saw that it was not good for man to be alone, He created woman (Genesis 2: 18). The garden was full of trees that were “pleasing to the eye and good for food” (2:9). In every sense, He wanted the very best for them and for us.

Sometimes we think that God’s will is this scary place, somewhere to be dreaded and feared, somewhere horrible where God might call us to go, or that He wants something bad for us, that He is someone who wants to take away our freedom or that He is unreasonable and unjust. But that’s not the truth of scripture. Here, from the very beginning, God creates beauty and goodness for His children. He wanted them to enjoy the abundance of life and to have an incredibly intimate and beautiful relationship with Him.

The goodness of these plans is echoed in Jeremiah. Even while proclaiming the coming judgment and exile of the Israelites, even when bad days were coming, God reminds them that He is working for their ultimate good. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). And indeed Jesus comes (God Himself) and proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

With those assurances that God cares and is working for my good and for our good, we don’t have to be afraid of His will. We don’t have to wonder if God is out to get us or to make us miserable. He’s not. He takes delight in us, and He wants the very best for us. That doesn’t mean that He caters to our desires, or is our genie in a bottle to grant our wishes. It means He is a loving Father that sees the bigger picture, that gives us boundaries to protect us from harm, instructs us in the ways that we should go, so that we will have a good and abundant life in Him, that we can enjoy the richness and intimacy of a relationship with Him.

At times, we question that goodness, particularly when God allows pain and suffering to come into our lives, or when His will seems the opposite of our desires. But James tells us that God even uses the trials of this life to work for our good. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1: 4). Paul iterates the same point in Romans – “And we know that in all things (even the bad things) God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Even in the face of evil, God works for good. What others mean for harm, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Even when we can’t see it or don’t understand it, the truth remains, God is good and we can trust that His will for us is good. “His ways are higher than our ways” (Isaiah 55: 8-9). When we follow, He leads us to green pastures and still waters; He restores our souls (Psalm 23: 2-3).

The Garden of Eden, then, is a picture of God’s great goodness, the richness and pleasure of a Father pouring out His blessing on His children, unhindered by sin and with complete and wonderful fellowship with God. What an image of what it looks like to be in the center of God’s will! That, my friends, is where I want to be. Don’t you?


Note: This reflection was prompted by Dr Mike Toby's sermon series on Genesis at First Baptist Church Woodway. To download sermons, visit the church website: http://www.fbcwoodway.org/resources/sermons/.