James R. Davis

What do we think when we think of Eden? God. Intimacy. Goodness. Tranquility. Untainted. Guiltless. Purity. Virtue. Harmlessness. Life. Immortality. Health. Youthfulness. Abundance. Simplicity. Unsophisticated. Inoffensive. Painless. Tearless. Safety. Security. Peace. Harmony. Understanding. Joy. Nakedness. Innocence. Openness. Sexuality. Fruitfulness. Morality. Incorruption. Guileless. Priceless. Confidence. Freedom. Choice. A place only found in our dreams.

"Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed." (Genesis 2:8.) "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:31.)

"And the LORD God commanded the man, "you are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge f good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16,17.) Satan said, "You will not surely die . . . For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, ad you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5.)

What did Adam and Eve see when their eyes were opened? Satan. Good. Evil. Disillusionment. Guilt. Alienation. Death. Finality. Aging. Fear. Hunger. Nakedness. Shame. Lusts. Perversion. Helplessness. Pain. Thorns. Toil. Sweat. Tears. Hurt. Anger. Suspicion. Division. Deceit. Vanity. Foolishness. Wickedness. Pride. Loss!!! Power of Choice!

When I think of Eden, I have several questions. How long did the age of innocence last? What was it like to talk to God, one on one, in person? What was it like to work for a purpose without having to worry about making a living? What was sexual knowledge like in total innocence? What was it like not to age? What is it like to have no need of hospitals, policemen, or funeral homes? Why did Adam & Eve make the choice to eat of the forbidden? Did they not know that paradise could not be improved? What would it take to satisfy human nature? When would enough be enough?

Human nature is endowed with curiosity. It is always searching, probing, and discovering. This curiosity implanted by God makes it possible for man to discover his world and have dominion over it. This curiosity is a wonderful thing if channeled in the right direction. But when it is directed in the wrong direction it becomes extremely self-destructive. We live in an age when we ask the question: "How far is too far?" "How much is too much?" "When does `no' mean `NO'?" These questions arise in areas of science, law, life and human relations. Curiosity easily becomes exploitation for self-gratification.

How many times have we craved to turn the clock back to an age of innocence? The further we go the tougher the decisions. The choices made move us in one direction or the other. At times the movement is in such small increments that movement is not perceptible. The result may not be known until decades later. After we discover the movement we wish "we didn't know now, what we didn't know then."

The Greatest Power On Earth Lies Within You

God placed the most powerful thing in the world  in the hands of man in Eden.   Man's power of choice!!! The gates of Hell itself cannot prevail against man's choice (Matthew 16:18; Romans 8:37-39). In a very real sense Heaven cannot prevail over that choice!!!  It  is choice that hurtles us toward self-gratification, self-destruction or the abundant life in Jesus Christ. That powerful weapon is given to each of us every day. It is the first thing we use when we arise each morning and the last thing we use when we pillow our head at night. And that power of choice is the only thing that will move us toward the abundant life in Christ.

We must ever be aware of the choices we make and the power of God through his Spirit  that enables us to make the right choices.  Adam could have never imagined the direction his choice would lead. Which direction are our choices taking us? As we look back we must understand that we will never be all wise in making our decisions but we can listen to God.

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole

Jesus asked an impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, "Wilt thou be made whole" (John 5:6). In modern day vernacular Jesus was asking, "Do you want to get well?"

It is common to hear about some seriously ill person giving up the will to live. Doctors in St. Louis had a peculiar patient. The man could get well if he wanted to, but he showed no interest in cooperating with the specialists for his own improvement. Psychiatrists reached the conclusion that he preferred his lot.

Usually when one has a physical disease he is anxious to be made whole, but the truth is that a malignancy is eating away at the souls of men and not everyone wishes to rid themselves of this loathsome disease. Therefore let us make spiritual application of this question, "Wilt thou be made whole?"

Personal Desire Important

The importance of one's personal desires must not be ignored. Many wonder if they could really be the kind of person that God would have them to be. The real concern is "Do I desire to be the kind of person God would have me to be?" Paul spoke of the "earnest . . . yea, what vehement desire" the Corinthians had in carrying out the instructions concerning their personal problems which he had addressed in his first letter to the Corinthians. (2 Corinthians 7:7-11.) Their desire for spiritual wholeness enabled them to overcome their spiritual ailments.

David longed to be the kind of person God wanted him to be. David was a man after God's own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14.) After David's adultery with Bathseba he prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). David cried out, "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee: my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." (Psalm 63:1.) David desired spiritual healing.

Jesus said, "Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled." (Luke 6:21.) "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7,8.)

Spiritual healing is not dependent upon a man's background, or his circumstances, but it is what is inside each of us that count. It is not what lies behind us; it is not what lies before us, but it is what lies within us that really counts. Do we want to get well?

God Is Willing To Give You The Desire

God is willing to increase our desire for spiritual wholeness. God spoke to Jeremiah concerning the captives in Babylon, "And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7.) "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will. . ." (Revelation 17:17.) Paul said, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13.) One's constant prayer to God should be: "Dear Lord, help me to want to be the kind of person you would have me to be."

The chorus of a beautiful old song says: "His power can make you what you ought to be; His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free." God gives us power to overcome sin in our lives. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12.) God has given us power to come to Christ; power to become disciples of Christ; power to overcome through Christ.

God can make the weakest stand. Paul said, " . . . God is able to make [weak] him stand." (Romans 14:14.) "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. (Isaiah 41:10.) "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:29-31.) We can become "more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37).

Our constant prayer should be: "Dear Lord, help me to want to be the kind of person you would have me to be; give me the strength to be the kind of person you would have me to be."

Conclusion

Long ago the king of Israel said, "Know ye not that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?" (1 Kings 22:3.) Likewise spiritual healing is ours today, but we are still and take it not!

"Wilt thou be made whole?" The power to make it happen is yours!!

God. Intimacy. Goodness. Tranquility. Untainted. Guiltless. Purity. Virtue. Harmlessness. Life. Immortality. Health. Youthfulness. Abundance. Simplicity. Unsophisticated. Inoffensive. Painless. Tearless. Safety. Security. Peace. Harmony. Understanding. Joy. Nakedness. Innocence. Openness. Sexuality. Fruitfulness. Morality. Incorruption. Guileless. Priceless. Confidence. Freedom. Choice. A place only found in our dreams?

It Is A Reality For The Child of God

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:27-30.)?