"Garden" | Reflection by Bob Scott

The word garden is found 57 times in the Bible. There are four particular gardens mentioned in the Bible. Interestingly each of them are places of peace, but three of them are also places of sadness. Two gardens in the Bible, Eden and Gethsemane, provided the settings for two choices that brought opposite results. Choices that, in fact, we face today. 

In the Garden of Eden, Adam made the choice to eat the fruit that God had forbidden, by choosing sin, he would suffer the consequences for not only himself, but for all humankind. The peaceful abundance and beauty of the garden was lost to all of us. That is until a choice was made in a different garden…the Garden of Gethsemane.

In Gethsemane, Jesus begged his Father in heaven to spare him death and suffering. But in the beauty and serenity of the garden, He chose to suffer death ,not only for the sins of Adam, but for the sins of the whole world. Bringing us the redemption and peace that was denied Adam.

Gardens are a place of hope. We plant our bulbs and seeds and have hope that our labor will be rewarded with beautiful flowers. We watch the flowers grow, come to full bloom and finally fade away for another season. But the hope remains. Hope was lost with Adam when he was expelled from his garden but hope returned with Jesus in his. As we watch our gardens come to life over the next several weeks, be reminded of the hope they represent and be joyful.