Random Thoughts about Heaven and the Garden

My Bible reading at the end of last year took me into Revelations, where John falls down as though dead when he sees Jesus (Revelations 1.17). On Earth, this was Jesus, his buddy: they walked together for three years, ate together, exchanged words and questions and deep thoughts. But when John saw Jesus in Heaven, he fell as though dead.

Now I’m reading in Genesis. There are Adam and Eve in the Garden, walking with God in the cool of the day, and talking with Him. Do they see God face to face? No (1 John 4.12). But they walk with Him and talk with Him and do not fall down as though dead. I think that’s because Adam and Eve were perfect at that time. They knew no sin. They knew God only as their Loving Creator, and had no terror of Him.

I think that might be a glimpse of Heaven. In our fleshly sinful bodies, our minds cannot contain what absolute holiness is. But in Heaven, we will see God face to face (1 Corinthians 13.12). We will finally know how to worship Him perfectly.

One other thing has me curious about Heaven. Genesis Chapter 3 says Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ”

Then Eve speaks in verse 2: The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden…”

My thought: Why did Eve not whirl around to Adam and say, “Look, this snake can talk!”

Did Adam and Eve and God routinely speak with the animals in the Garden? And might this be a peek into Heaven?

Light: Tell the Story

“Grandma, tell me the story again.”

Eve smiled. How many times had she heard that plea? How many children called her Grandma? This little one was the daughter of Jared, several generations from her son, Seth. She drew her into her lap. “Which one, Neah?”

“The light.”

“Oh, the light.” Eve paused as she pondered the light in Eden. Really, after all this time, she had never found the precise words to describe it, nothing with which to compare it. Nothing else was like it.

She continued. “The light was everywhere, not like it is now. Here, we have darkness and light. We have ways to make light when it’s dark outside, but it’s not the same as the light we had in the Garden. God was the light, and He was in the garden, and His light was everywhere. Everything shimmered and glowed – everything: the trees, all the plants, even the animals. And Grandma and Grandpa. There was light everywhere, but it was not blinding. It was light that enabled us to see, to see more clearly than we can now, with more truth. There was light everywhere. See those trees?” Eve pointed to some palms. “In the Garden, the trees had light, and there was light springing up from the ground around them. When we walked, our steps were light. We walked with God then…” Eve fell away from her speech.

“Isn’t God still here, with us?” Neah looked up at her Grandma.

“Yes.” Eve brushed the tip of Neah’s nose and smiled. “Yes, He is. Everywhere. And we can still talk to Him. But,” she ended on a wistful note, “it’s not the same as in the Garden. We can’t see Him here like we did.”

“You could see God?”

“No, no we couldn’t see Him, exactly, but somehow our eyes or our vision was different there. Oh, I wish I could explain it!” She gave Neah a hug. “But some day, some day we will be able to see again, to walk with God in purity. He promised. And Neah,” she held her granddaughter’s eyes, “God is always true. He always loves you, and He will always take care of you. Never doubt Him. We may sometimes walk away, but He never does. And He always, always wants us to walk with Him.”

Neah yawned. “I will, Grandma. I will.”

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John from The Eclectic Contrarian started the unique and intriguing Tell the Story Challenge, and it’s been spreading around. Amy and Stuart nominated me after weaving their well-crafted prose. Please visit them to read and be blessed.

The Tell the Story Challenge rules (as per John): present a picture, then tell the story of the picture. It can be as short or as long as you want it to be. Nominate at least 3 people.

I’m not good at nominating. Here’s a picture, and if it speaks to you, please write a story about it.

(photo from Google Images)