God opens up the door to His study and steps out onto the balcony overlooking His Garden. He hears the chirping of birds, the rustling of squirrels, and the babbling of brooks, but something is missing. Despite perfect ecological acoustics and natural symphonic majesty He senses a lyrical emptiness. The spirituals once sung by His Garden tenders are but a faint echo. Memories of two special children swirl through His mind. He recalls their eyes, big as saucers, trying to take in every nuanced brush stroke painted on His creative canvas. He misses their enchanted laughter as they encountered the unexpected platypus. He misses the giggles that filled the air as they tried to catch the dewdrops of eternity on their tongues dripping from the leaves of the Tree of Life. His joyful reminiscence is interrupted by the painful memory of the day when the life-giving blood of their childhood innocence was replaced by an evil humor. Their affectionate call for Abba was replaced by the arrogant dismissal of “who’s your daddy?” On that day, Adam and Eve told God that He was not enough for them. He recalls the haunting silence that formed like eddies in the wake of each step they took out of the Garden. Longing to once again stroll with his children, He knew that He must first step through that gate and walk with them in the harsh wilderness conditions of pain, thorns, thistles, and death.
God left His Garden and entered our wilderness to save our human forest from being consumed by fire. He came, however, not as a buff fireman, but as a helpless baby. It is stunning enough to think that the God of the universe would enter our dilemma, but it is even more stunning that He would do it as a helpless baby in the care of fallen man. Why would he entrust the savior of the world to the very beings that messed it up in the first place? The Lamb who was without sin would be raised by wolves. As Mary and Joseph gazed upon that innocent face, gale force winds of a fallen world swirling around them, little did they know that this baby would have the final Word, “Peace! Be still!” (And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm – Mark 4:39.)
Ultimate love has arrived. Gaze upon the innocent face of the Christ child and know that He came for you. The gate to the Garden is once again open. Let the Rising Son on the Eastern horizon be a lamp unto your feet guiding you back to the Garden path where, in the cool of the morning, your walking Partner awaits.
Thank you to all who have spent time reading my blogs this last year. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
