Paradise
Posted on May 31, 2011 by Pastor Tom
Paradise. If I asked you to describe paradise, what would you include? Moms with young children might say “paradise occurs when everything is quiet and I have a moment to think.” Canadians in January might say paradise is “a deserted white sand beach in the Caribbean.” Project managers might say “paradise is when the project is finished or when the pieces of the project come together.” Parents might say “paradise happens for me when everyone in the family is getting along.” Seniors might say “paradise for me occurs when my kids and grandkids grow in the faith.”
For some paradise, depends on circumstances. For some paradise is some place you go to for a short time to experience. Then you have to come back to the real world. For most of us paradise is somewhere desirable but not something really attainable.
One author put it this way. “Paradise: a place without pain, without suffering; a time when love and peace flourish. Paradise has been the object of hopes and dreams for every generation. Within the bosom of every person who experiences pain, injustice or the death of a loved one, there aches the longing for a place of wholeness, a thirst for a time of healing. This is rooted in the essence of humanity: we are beings who do not accept the world as it is; something in our instinct, in our collective consciousness, tells us that the world at present is out of sync – there has to be a better time, a better place. We should assume from our experience that every human desire has an object to satisfy it. . . . People yearn for paradise, and paradise is meant for people to enjoy.”
But did you know that there once was a real paradise. This place was not some holiday destination that one could go to for a week or two. It was a place designed for permanent residence. It was a place we could have lived in. It’s described in Genesis 2:4–25. As we continue in our journey through the bible’s storyline, we come to paradise. We learned that key event #1 in the Bible’s storyline is “The One Triune God is creator of all that exists.” #2 – The life-giving God provided paradise for the first man and woman.
Next time – Notice the change in God’s name.
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