John Michael Caroll’s song, Where I’m From, is a great lead in to what I will share today. I will start at the beginning, literally; Genesis 1.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Mr. Caroll’s lyrics tie into a theme that has been prevalent in my readings of the past few months as I have journeyed with the Goose.
Where are we from? This is something that we ask people on a regular basis. “Where are you from?” is part of the world wide dialogue. We are all curious to know where someone is from. Why is that? Is it just part of our “small talk” like talking about the weather or ones occupation? Or is it something deeper in the human soul wanting, even yearning to connect on a deeper level? Where we are from tells a story about us and everyone loves a story! If someone says in response to your question, “I’m from Denver. Well, you immediately draw from any past experience regarding Denver or Colorado and begin to share mutual points of interest and experiences. If none exists, you probably ask questions as to what its like and what the person likes and dislikes about living there.
I think one of the biggest reasons the TV show Lost was so popular was for this very reason. The writers took us into each characters past, to where they were from. They masterfully told each characters story and wove it into the present.
I believe our souls have echos of the past, the way past- back to the beginning. The above creation story tells how we were created. Verse 27 tells of our past-
“So God created man in his own image”. Regardless of your religious beliefs, deep in your soul, you know you were created for more than what you are experiencing in this life. Genesis chapter 2 depicts the “echos” of what was meant to be that are imprinted in our souls-
8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin [f] and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. [g] 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam [h] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs [i] and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [j] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman, [k] ‘
for she was taken out of man.”
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Sounds Awesome, does it not? And they felt no shame! This was what we were created for! To walk with God in a perfect place, an Eden. Here is the definition I found on the web;
E·den /ˈidn/ Show Spelled[eed-n] Show IPA
–noun
1. the place where Adam and Eve lived before the Fall. Gen. 2:8–24.
2. any delightful region or abode; paradise.
3. a state of perfect happiness or bliss.
4. a town in N North Carolina. 15,672.
Origin:
< Heb ‘ēden delight, pleasure
If we are honest with ourselves, this is something we all long for is it not? Why do we long for something that we have never experienced? I believe this human longing is due to what we were created for. This was how it was meant to be… We were created for more than this, this existence we call our lives. Lives of pain, sorrow, brokeness, crying, longing, lonliness, suffering, doubt, fear, depression, lostness, hopelessness and despair.
It is no wonder the human soul looks for ways to experience what, we know in our hearts, we have lost. Something has gone terribly wrong and we don’t know what to do about it. So we muddle along trying to make the best of this so called “life” Hoping to experience as much joy, peace and Eden as possible. We surround ourselves with nice things; homes, cars, boats, jewelry,entertainment of all varieties- all in a vain attempt to capture what was lost. Let me ask you a question. If this describes you to some degree- Well, how is that working for you? Do you have so many “things” that your heart is anesthetized from knowing its true desire? In case you have not noticed, you can seemingly “have it all” and still be miserable. Just one look at the celebrity news and one can see that “having it all” is not what its cracked up to be. Let’s take a look at a more altruistic route that many take. After someone realizes that accumulation of things, fame and power do not bring happiness, if they have not killed themselves, they will follow the path of good works. Save the earth, whales, seals etc. You name it! Everyone is looking, longing for something more!
John 10 7-Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8-All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9-I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10-The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Matthew 11:28-30
28-“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29-Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30-For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
John 14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
1-“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2-In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3-And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4-You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5-Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6-Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 7:37-39
37-On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38-Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 39-By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
The truth is that we are all thirsty for something more! It is because we were created for more! To the extent that we understand this- and that the only answer to our longing is found in a relationship with our Heavenly Father, our Creator- through the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus- only then will we be able to recapture what we have lost.
Isaiah 53:4-6
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all
By His Wounds we are HEALED! Accept what Jesus has done for you, ask Him to give you the Living Water, His Spirit. Give Him full and complete control of your life. Stop holding on to what you have and trust Him to give you a life of abundance- walking with your Creator. How it was meant to be! ….On earth as it is in Heaven.
The Glory of God, is man fully Alive- St. Irenaeus
