Our evening keynote speaker, Lisa, walked us through the story of four gardens. In the gardens of Eden, Gethsemane, the garden of Jesus’ tomb, and the garden in Revelation, the story of our journey to fearlessness unfolds. Through the life and actions of Jesus, we discover the ultimate foundation for our hope.
Lisa explained that in Eden, God’s vision for perpetual harmony with the people created by His love, unraveled. Doubt and fear entered the world. When Adam and Eve chose to eat from the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they chose separation from God. From that moment on, God pursued the return of that harmony until He ultimately came to earth Himself to fix what was broken.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus experienced the fear that originated in Eden. Facing that fear, Jesus chose the will of the Father. Accepting death on the cross, He entered our third garden as He was laid in an empty tomb: the tomb in which fear was conquered. The space between this garden and the garden of Revelation is filled with lies that distract us on the journey.
Lies We Sometimes Believe
- God is too busy for me.
- God is clueless about me and my life.
- God is indifferent to my problems and needs.
The Truth
- God is not bound by time. He has all the time in the world for you.
- God knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows you better than you know yourself.
- Sometimes we pray for really good things that we don’t end up getting. But that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care. His promise to be with us always remains.
How can we be fearless in the face of all this? We find our answer in the fourth garden. In the Book of Revelation, we encounter a new garden – one where there is no sin, no shame, no suffering, and no death. Heaven is a place with no fear. In order to be fearless, we find our hope here: we were not made for this earth. We were made for Heaven.
We don’t need to be afraid. It’s going to be okay. It doesn’t always look and feel like that is true, but it is. We have to have an eternal perspective. We have to remember the last garden.
“You were made for Heaven. Be not afraid. We already won,” concluded Lisa.
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