"Home, Sweet Home"
Opening Prayer
Creator God, I thank You for all You have made and how good and wonderful it all is!
Read Genesis 2:4-25
[4] This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. [5] Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, [6] but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. [7] Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. [8] Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. [9] The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [10] A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. [11] The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. [12] (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) [13] The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. [14] The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. [15] The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. [16] And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; [17] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” [18] The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” [19] Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. [20] So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. [21] So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. [22] Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. [23] The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” [24] That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. [25] Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
What do we learn about the relationship of men and women?In what sort of place would you most like to live? Personally, I’d be delighted to think that the creator of my ideal world had put me first in his plan–had even constructed the place around me as his starting point. This seems to be the case with the Garden of Eden, certainly in terms of both God’s intentions and his priorities. I’d love to inhabit a place that combined practicality with items designed to delight the residents. I’d hope that my home was balanced ecologically and climatically: that it was irrigated, but never flooded; equipped with everything I needed, but not exploited and spoiled. I’d be glad to do a little satisfying work. Most of all I’d love to share the space with friends I could choose, with merry creatures, with a God I could relate to and with the one gorgeous soul mate set aside for me! Has there ever been a human who has not, at some point, sensed a yearning for such a place? From deep within us comes the intuition that this unsatisfactory set-up of ours is not the way things were meant to be. Longing for Eden is in our nature. God meant us for better than this!
Apply
Think of all the good of creation around you and take time now to thank and praise God for it.
Closing prayer
Lord God, all You made was, and still is, good. May I cherish and care for Your good creation in any and all ways possible.
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