“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15).
One large theme in the book of Genesis is that of having a personal relationship with God. A personal relationship with God is not initially easy because the Bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Because of sin, the natural man stops seeking the right way to have fellowship with God. Something has been lost.
Each of us has experienced the dreadful feeling of looking for something valuable or important, and not being able to find it. It might have been a ring, a set of keys, or a wallet.
Many years ago, while speaking at a Bible conference in Florida, I was at the Kennedy Space Center and lost my wallet with $600.00 in it. I felt a dreadful feeling because I realized that money was gone forever.
Others have been careless with something of value, and remain clueless as to what they have thrown away.
A story is told of a man who loved old books.
He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations.
“I couldn’t read it,” the friend explained.
“Somebody named Guten-something had printed it.”
“Not Gutenberg!” the book lover exclaimed in horror.
“That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!”
His friend was unimpressed.
“Mine wouldn’t have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German.”
This very human tendency to be careless with precious objects goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
The Bible tells us that Adam was careless with his responsibility before God and on behalf of the whole human race. As a result, paradise would be lost.
The word “paradise” comes from a Persian word meaning “Garden of the King”.
The Garden of Eden must have been the most beautiful spot on earth with lush fruit trees, tamed animals, exquisite flowers, and rich grass to walk on.
The air would have been perfumed with the fragrance of roses and honey suckles.
There would have been the sound of music as the birds sang out their various sonnets.
The sky would have been always blue. The sun always shone.
The Garden was pleasant. for it had been planted by God who brought Adam to it. (Gen. 2:8)
The Garden of Eden was cool in the evenings, and so it was at suppertime that the Lord Himself walked into the Garden to fellowship with Adam and Eve.
But one day the Creator discovered that His creation had rebelled against Him.
In the moment that Adam and Eve sinned they lost everything that was precious and valuable.
First, they lost life itself. God had warned them not to eat of the forbidden fruit “for in the day thou eatest there of thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17).
The Bible tells us that whereby one man sinned, death passed upon all men.
Today, we are born physically alive but spiritually dead. And, the essence of death is in our cells. It is appointed unto men once to die.
Second, Adam and Eve lost their innocence. Genesis 3:7 says that after the couple ate “the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.”
We are living in a society of openness, and much perversion. Childhood is no longer a time of innocence for alluring images of decadence are splashed across billboards, flaunted in magazines, and forced upon the consciousness through prime-time TV programs. The unspeakable is now the subject of common discussion.
Some of us long for the protection of our young people so that they do not have to have their eyes opened too suddenly to the manifold evils of life.
Then, third, Adam and Eve lost the harmony and perfection of nature for the earth was cursed. Genesis 3:17,18 says, “And unto Adam He (God) said, ‘Behold because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.'”
There was a fourth thing Adam and Eve lost the day they sinned. They lost the place of fellowship and worship with the Lord.
The Bible says that God sent them forth from the Garden of Eden to cultivate the ground.
“So, He drove out the man; and He placed at the East gate of the Garden of Eden, cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Gen. 3:24)
If the Biblical record had ended with Genesis 3, then there would be room for nothing but ultimate despair in time.
Paradise, lost.
Life itself, lost.
Innocence and righteousness, lost.
Happiness and harmony, lost.
But there is good news for the Second Adam, the Last Adam has also appeared and His name is Jesus.
Jesus said, “I have come to seek and save that which is lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Our hearts can rejoice again. There is yet hope for what is lost can be found.
The Bible tells us that Jesus has found a way to recover for man all that he lost.
First, by Adam’s sin the penalty of death was passed upon all men. Not only the physical death, but spiritual death as well.
Man lost life. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)
Again, the innocence that Adam lost is restored.
The Bible says there is now no condemnation to all who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1) And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17)
Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” (John 3:3)
To be born again is to have new life, new innocence in Christ.
Then third, the harmony and perfection of nature which Adam and Eve lost will one day be wholly restored.
The Bible teaches us that one day this heaven and this earth will pass away.
Because of Christ there is a new world coming wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)
Finally, all the happiness, all the fellowship that Adam and Eve lost with the Lord is now found.
Through the blood of Christ man is reconciled to God.
Come to Christ.
Anyone who feels lost, helpless, hopeless can be found.
The Good Shepherd is still searching for the lost sheep of life.
The heavenly Father is still watching and waiting for the wandering child to return.
Right now, you can find Christ and discover the riches of His glory.
That is what we want all men, women, and children to know. What is lost can be found.
