"Fit for Eden", a poem at Christmas

 The Nativity had already been included in God's plans when disaster struck in the Garden of Eden.  He knew what was going to happen; He knew what it would take to fix it, and how much it would cost Him.       He did it anyway!  

                                            Fit for Eden

                         Power exploded through the ground;

                         roots raced downwards;

                         a profusion of green shot out into the Garden!

                         Perfection of plants and flowers...

                         the Tree of Life. ..fit for Eden! 

                         Power surged through your fingers

                         as they scooped up dust from the earth,

                         shaped Adam, and from him, Eve.

                         Perfection of first man and woman...

                         Image of God!...fit for Eden!

                         Then...danger in the perfect Garden.

                         The Serpent slunk in...twisted your Father's words...

                         persuaded...deceived.

                         Perfect Adam and perfect Eve heard...

                         listened...reached out...

                         and were fit for Eden no longer.

                         Our perfection broken, Death now our shadow,

                         we left Eden, imperfect...but not without Hope,

                         for the cherubim and flaming sword

                         were not your Father's final Word.

                         Compressing Your vastness into a tiny embryo,

                         You were embedded in the Virgin's womb,

                         the very seed of perfection,

                         the very seal of promise.

                         And so the Creator of Eden

                         was birthed as a helpless little Baby.

                         Your power unfolded in sinless sequence:

                         little boy...young man...carpenter...Teacher...

                                        unstoppable Force! 

                         who looked Death in the eye and destroyed it...by dying,

                         then proving its defeat by walking out of the tomb, alive!

                         Only a perfect Man's blood

                         could quench the flaming sword

                         that denied us access to the Tree of Life.

                         You, Yeshua! You were the final Word!

                         Perfect Man, yet grace-filled God,

                         You "crushed the Serpent's head",

                         unweaving the curse that fell on us who sin.

                         Now, loving us who believe,

                         and shielding us with Your promise,

                         You clothe us with Your perfection

                         to make us fit for Eden once more!

                                                                                  -----Becky Rhon

I didn't mean to kill Sam...honest!

 

I don't suppose a "city of refuge" or two managed to survive these thousands of years...? No, I guess not.  At any rate, I doubt that any of Sam's relatives will come looking for me to fulfill Leviticus 24's mandate: "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". It would be decidedly impossible for them to carry out, considering that Sam was my prized jar of sourdough starter! 

I am very clumsy (thanks to fibromyalgia and arthritis) and prone to dropping and breaking things, so it's really not a wonder that one morning, as I was moving Sam in the fridge, his jar slipped out of my hand and crashed to the floor with a burst of glass shards, condemning  him to a slow, gooey death.  (No way his relatives could do the same to me for revenge!)

                                    *****************************

Of course, Jesus made it clear that the old rule is obsolete (thank Heaven!)  (We sure have it so much better than in the Old Testament, don't we?)  We now walk with Him in a very different context,  but that doesn't mean that we won't still make mistakes, cause accidents, have good intentions go awry...or kill our sourdough starter...because we will. Not only that, but we will suffer from the mistakes of others and from the accidents they cause,  in spite of their good intentions.  (We will most likely also suffer from others' bad intentions!)  Jesus Himself pretty much guaranteed it in John 16:33:

"In this world you will have troubles."  

But that's not all He guaranteed.  The verse continues: "But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

                                    ******************************

Even when on the "narrow way" with Him, all kinds of uncomfortable, unwanted, frustrating things can happen.  That's just life; (and no, it's NOT fair!)  However, if we believe Christ's promises, our hearts, our souls, the part of us that is eternal is protected.  

"The LORD preserves those who are true to Him."  (Psalm 31:23)

"He will not let your foot slip.  He who watches over you will not slumber."  (Psalm121:3)

"Things"...circumstances...pandemics...accidents...meanness in others...sadness...lost sourdough starters...or even worse...not one of them is too much for our Father to handle, not one is so powerful that it can rip away the protective shield He places around us.   He gives us promises, over and over. One of my favorites is in Psalm 91:14-15:

          

                                    "'Because he loves Me,' says the LORD, 

                                                 'I will rescue him; 

                             I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  

                                     He will call Me, and I will answer him; 

                                            I will be with him in trouble; 

                                       I will deliver him and honor him.'"

The most awesome way of reading this passage:  for every "he(she)" or "him(her)", put your name in its place.                                 

                                                   It's amazing...honest!

    

Things I did for the first time in a year:

 

1.) Dusted off my purse and sandals.  2.) Wore earrings.  3.) Got into our car.  4.) Left our property.      5.) Went to a store.  

Yes, in the last 12 months I had not done any of those.  But it was my birthday, and I decided to celebrate!  We were only out of the house a little over an hour, but it was long enough to see that not much has changed...but also long enough to allow me to feel a little less like a hermit!                                                                                                                                                **********************

BUT...the things I WAS able to do and have during the last year are so much more important!   In most every way, the basic foundation of my life continued as usual.  (I have underlying health issues, so have always been somewhat home-bound.) Maybe your situation is different, and your routines have been disrupted or turned upside-down.  But what about your values, your heart, your soul, your spirit?  The pandemic need not affect them negatively - unless you let it.  

For me, the things that really matter include a very supportive husband, contact with family, e-mail conversations with a couple of special friends...and above all,  my most-essential friendship with my Lord.  What could be more important?

How I wish that the people who whine so much about pandemic restrictions, and their "rights", would realize how transitory are some of the things they allow to offend them!  (If they want to complain, they can get rid of their angst by railing against the Coronavirus itself- it's tough, it can handle it!) They would do well to consider a different approach: following Ephesians 4:2:. 

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient. bearing with one another in love."

                                ****************************

Let's try to keep our focus on what really matters in our lives, during the pandemic.  As terrible as the circumstances are, let's not live "under them".  They may not change, and could get worse.  But we CAN live "above them". It's not always easy, I know.  But it is definitely possible, and with God's help, definitely do-able.  

                                          "I remain confident of this:

    that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!    

             Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage;

                                              wait for the LORD!                  (Psalm 27:13-14)                                                                                                                 

"THIS HOPE", a poem for Christmas (and pandemics!)

When did HOPE first come into being?  How long ago was HOPE born?

No, it wasn't 2,000 years ago. Hope began long before Christ was born.  It had been around for centuries, for millennia.  In fact, Hope came to life even before its Creator fashioned our world!

Titus 1:2: "...in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time."

II Timothy 1:9: "...He has saved us...not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.  This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before time began."

Hope was born in Heaven, out of the immense love God had for the people He would create.  He knew we would be separated from Him because of sin, so He pre-planned the way to give us the Hope of reconciliation with Him.

                                    THIS HOPE

               Hope, long ensconced within Israel's heart,                                                                       broke out from its nest, keen to make a head-start.

               Armored with strength that was drawn from the Name,                                                       it knew well that Hell would be honing its aim.

               Early it flew off to far-eastern lands                                                                                     to place royal gifts in Magi's noble hands.

               It eagerly hastened them on toward the Light,                                                                   and guarded their camp every long, weary night.

               Hope watched, alert, over Bethlehem's path,                                                                     well out of the reach of the Enemy's wrath.

               Over sheep-herders' fields it kept vigil, to rout                                                                   and deflect from their minds any daggers of doubt.

                Messiah was born!  So their spirits rose high!                                                                    And though Evil might try, it could not make Hope die.

               It skirted a plot, taking wing till it soared                                                                             above the hot hatred of King Herod's sword.

               At last, Hope held the Christ-Child in awe-filled embrace;                                                   kissed the slumbering brow of Incarnated Grace;

               then Hope started to glow...bright and brighter its blaze,                                                   transforming itself into myriad rays.

               Each ray sped with joy to create a new nest                                                                        in the burgeoning faith of a truth-seeker's breast.

               This Hope keeps our eyes fixed upon Heaven's door...                                                 for Grace Incarnate Himself will come through it once more!                                                                          *****************                                  (Becky Rhon)

Hope, in general, seems to be all over the place!  Every person lives through myriad hopes in his/her life.  But divine Hope, that took its first breath in God's presence as He planned history,  has a "Bank" from where it can spill out and splash all over us!

"...the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in Heaven..."  (Colossians 1:5)

Divine Hope centers on a most imperative need we have - and a most marvelous gift we are given to meet that need!  Hope of eternal life with our Father and his Son!  It is possible only because of what Christ did in Bethlehem, at Calvary, and in his empty tomb. 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."  (I Peter 1:3)                      ***************

So we who have availed ourselves of the Gift can echo the psalmists, and joyfully sing:

"I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope."  (Psalm 130:5)

"Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in You alone."  (Psalm 33:22)

"As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more."  (Psalm 71:14)                                                        ********************

When we trust in our God, we are NEVER without access to Hope!                              Proverbs 23:18 says "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."  Promise!!

As we head into a new year, with new presidents (U.S. and soon Ecuador), even in the midst of a raging pandemic, God's promise, written down by Jeremiah, is as alive and true as it was millennia ago:

                        "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,                                                                                                                                                                                       "plans to prosper you and not to harm you,                                                                                                                                                                                                                plans to give you hope and a future."    (Jeremiah 29:11)

                                                         Thank You!