The Garden Experience

It is written in Psalm 27:4 "The one thing I ask of the Lord - the thing I seek most - is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in His Temple."

This particular verse of God's love song to us stirs my very core. Think about it . . . to live in the house of the Lord ALL the days of your life. I have heard it said that the sacrifice that Christ made for us, in essence, allows us to return to the place of pure beauty and joy that Adam was banished from - the Garden of Eden. I don't know about you but in my mind the Garden of Eden is a place of perfection. A place where every need is satisfied, every desire is met. There are no dangers and there is no death. Everything you gaze upon is full of life - vibrant, colorful and pleasing to all your senses. Your thoughts would be loving. Your actions would be gentle. You would be surrounded with peace and security and you would radiate joy - pure joy.

In this Garden the Lord would dwell - co-exist - with us. We would see His perfection, hear the gentleness of His voice, feel the warmth and softness of His touch. As though it were a dose of medicine that I needed at the time, the Lord, not long ago, used a person who was praying for me to let me experience what His touch is like. As this person prayed I was convinced that if I opened my eyes I would see Christ standing there in front of me - I was convinced that it WAS Christ who was touching my hand - the warmth, the softness. The only thing I heard was my name being spoken and it was as though Christ Himself spoke it. Oh, Sweet Jesus! How glorious it is to be in your presence!!

Was it my imagination - something I conjured up at the time? No, I don't believe so. For it is not in my nature to be imaginative - a person of vision. My heart tells me that if it was something that I created from within me it would have left me as quickly as it came - but rather, the remembrance of this experience is so real to me even now, weeks later, that I am shaken by it. I am convinced of it's divine origin.

How about you? Have you walked in the Garden lately? Let me encourage you to visit the place of perfection - knock at the gate - He's there waiting to open it up for you. He wants to take your hand and give you a guided tour.

Thank You, Lord. Thank You for allowing us to gaze upon your splendor and perfection. Thank You for allowing us to spend time with You in Your Temple.
Amen and Amen.
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