Banishment

Genesis 3...it's probably one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. Because in this chapter we find the reason for all of the pain, all of the suffering, all the evil and sin that we see in us and around us. In Genesis 2 Adam was told that all that had been created was for him to enjoy, except that one tree in the middle of the garden...that one if he ate of it he would surely die. So in chapter 3 we see that indeed both he and Eve ate, and we  begin to understand what God meant when He said we would surely die. Because indeed, from that moment on death loomed. Physical death became a part of our reality, but worse yet than that was soul-death. In being banished from the Garden of Pleasure...no, not just banished, but driven out of the garden by Yahweh Elohim Himself, we were banished from the presence of God Himself...we experienced soul-death. Can we feel the weight of that?? Driven from the beautiful presence of the Lord God which brought pleasure, and satisfaction, and joy to the created humanity. Banished from the very One necessary for our survival left Adam and Eve, and through them all the rest of humanity, dead.

And now this place of beauty and of abundance...the Garden of Pleasure (Eden) this place that was free of sin and shame and that housed the very presence of God is guarded by cherubim and flaming swords...no longer are we able to enter the holy presence of God and walk intimately with Him in the cool of the day. No longer do we have the fulfilling pleasure and satisfaction that we once enjoyed so freely. No longer do we have the soul-life that comes from God alone. But echoes of Eden remain in our souls. A longing for what once was resides deep in our hearts, stirring up a restlessness in the void made for God.

And so now, in banishment, we wander restlesslessly outside of this place that was once called Eden, away from God's presence...like Cain we hope by building cities we will settle the aching restlessness that stirs within our hearts. Like the people of the plain of Shinar who built the Tower of Babel, we build towers trying to make much of ourselves, to fill the void that is deep in our hearts. Like the children of Israel, wandering endlessly in the wilderness...Like the Samaritan woman, endlessly drinking from different wells looking to satisfy our thirsts...But it's always there...this restlessness...this void...this thirst....always hovering near the surface. No matter what we do to suppress it, deny it, cover it, satiate it, no matter what we chase after...strive for...it is always there...reminding us that something is missing and that something is crucial to our very existence.

Augustine words "for Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee" aptly describes our state as humanity. Every heart, since that moment at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, is a restless wanderer...perpetually searching for what was lost to us in the Garden...the presence of the personal intimate Lord God. Whether people realize it or not...it is what is wrong with our world. This restless wandering has driven us to seek to still that restlessness in everything but God. It has driven us to be a very desperate, thirsty humanity, seeking to quench our thirsts and still our restless and wandering hearts in the creation rather than the Creator. It is what drives us in our sinfulness to self-centeredness, in power struggles, in jealousy and covetousness, in bigotry, in crime, in broken relationship. It can, even, drive us to pursue a life of righteous deeds because it is is in our righteous lives that we are seeking to satisfy and fill the emptiness of our souls and not in Jesus alone.

Freedom to do and live and try everything in the world isn't the solution. New relationships, new sexual exploits, new sexual identities, money, power, fame, education, achievements, entertainment...none of these things are solutions.

Religion isn't a solution either...even if that religion tells us to live and follow the example of Jesus. Following the actions of Jesus is just another way I can busy my life to try to fill the empty place in my soul with something other than Jesus Himself. It is Jesus Himself that fills, satisfies, and settles all that is wrong in my soul.

This is why any solution to solve what is wrong with this world that does not rest solely in a relationship with Jesus Christ is actually not a solution at all. Jesus Christ is God's answer to the banishment from His presence and the lingering soul-death that we all have. It is through the person and the work of Jesus that we are once again able to live in the presence of  Holy God. It is because Jesus Himself experienced banishment from the presence of God...that He experienced soul-death...that we now can have access back into the Father's presence. When Jesus hung on the cross, experiencing the wrath of God, forsaken by His Father, crying out these..."My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" it was then that He experienced the full weight of the punishment from Genesis 3 in my place. So because of this...I can now have what my restless heart is searching for...intimate relationship with God.  That He did this, so that I could be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, absolutely melts my heart.

But do we really believe that? Do we believe that we deserve banishment and death? Do we believe that Jesus took that on for us? Do we really believe that our souls are crying out for HIM and HIM alone? Do we put all of our hope in Him? This is the message of the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. This gospel... is the very power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. It is the very power of God to resurrect us from soul death into soul life. It is the very power to heal all that is wrong with us. It is the very power by which restless hearts can find their rest in God.