Genesis 2:8-14 - Eden

I am always totally stunned by the beauty of creation when I go to the Alps; the power and magnificence of the mountain ranges, the beauty of the alpine flowers, the richness of the colours and smells, the freshness of the air. This picture doesn't really do justice to it, but it's a close attempt!

God is an artist as well as an architect and builder; he has created beauty as well as practicality. In the beginning God created the garden of Eden to show what the world was intended to become under mankind's care; it was a show garden which was home to trees that were 'good for food' and 'pleasing to the eye'.

But Eden was more than a show garden; it was a testing ground, where man's obedience to God would be tested and where issues of eternity would be decided. Later in the Bible we come across another garden when another man's obedience to God are tested to the farthest limits and issues of eternal life were decided. (More on this when we look at Genesis 3:6-7.)

For now the future is bright; there is abundant water and a land ripe for exploration and enjoyment. Although we live in a fallen world, there is still so much beauty and abundance for us to enjoy.