Loved Through An Eviction
“So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:23,24 NIV)
We are not sure if they were able to take anything with them when they left. No momentos, no accessories, nothing that would tie them to their former home. It must have been heart-wrenching to be evicted from their first and only home.
Adam and Eve weren’t put out because they broke a window or failed to pay the rent. They were not ushered to the street corner because of clutter collecting on the sides of the house or strange odors emitting from their abode. It wasn’t loud noises or cars parked on the lawn that sent them packing. It was actually straightforward. They were put out because of produce.
It didn’t rot. It wasn’t left on the street scavenged and abandoned. They touched, then ate the forbidden fruit and, in doing so, sealed their fate. An angel with a flaming sword that swung in every direction guarded the entrance. And this is a definition of love.
A new couple is put out of their home, and you’re telling me this is love? Yep. But they will be on the street. Homeless. Love? Exactly.
What if I told you that God’s love was demonstrated here just as much as it was in the six days of creation. Adam and Eve made a choice to disregard God’s command and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result, they were separated from God.
By putting them out of the garden, they no longer had access to the tree of life. They were separated but not forever. The moment they sinned, a plan was activated where they could one day be reunited with God again. But it meant that they had to leave so that they could eventually come back.
Had Adam and Eve eaten from the tree of life after they sinned, they would have had to deal with sin for eternity. Consequently, being put out of the garden was better than living forever with sin because it would be eternal torture. By putting them out, God was giving them, and us, a chance to die (to themselves). So that they could live, that’s love.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 NIV)
Thought Questions:
- Have you experienced something that felt like punishment but ended up being a sign of love?
- What do those types of “reversals” tell you about God’s love for you?
