TWO GARDENS; TWO CHOICES
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ot much serious business takes place in gardens. While courts and boardrooms host the significant affairs that shape our world, gardens are our escape. They are havens of beauty and relaxation. It seems odd, then, that the two most monumental decisions ever made—affecting all of life on our planet—both happened in gardens. It is here, in these two gardens, that we begin our journey to the heart of Easter. The first decision was made in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit, plunging the world into the chaos of sin. The other was made in the Garden of Gethsemane, where God’s answer to our world’s problem began to take shape. Expecting, as human beings, to fully understand the significance of sin is like expecting a fish to understand that it’s wet. We’ve only ever lived in a world marked by selfishness, deception, cruelty and suffering. The very fact that we all long for something better suggests we were made for a world untouched by sin. And that is the kind of world where Adam and Eve lived. In the Garden of Eden they enjoyed fellowship with God, a custom-made soulmate, peace, beauty and freedom. There was only one curb on their liberty; they mustn’t eat the fruit of a certain tree. But temptation came and forced them to make a choice . . . would they do what God wanted and continue to enjoy the peace and goodness of life with Him; or would they do what they wanted, setting themselves against God? We all know the answer . . . and the world around us displays the results of their decision.
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