I’m continuing to read the book Resilient by John Eldredge and I just finished the chapter about all of us longing for “Eden”, for a restoration of all things that are good.
He points out that we all long for a return of what was good but these longings are often sought after in replacement of seeking God. We want the good without the God who made it.
We are encouraged both in his book and in the Good Book (Bible) to seek God, through Jesus, and not His creation. When we seek to restore good without God we make good the goal. But the goal has always been to restore our relationship with God.
We long for Eden. It’s a God-given longing that is meant to direct us back to Him, not Eden itself. And as a blessing and reminder, He has placed His goodness everywhere. We see it in beautiful sunsets, in the innocence of a baby’s eyes, in the tender hug of a loved one, in the whisper of the breeze, and any other thing or place that warms your heart.
At the end of Chapter 7 in the book, we are encouraged to surrender our longings moment by moment over to Jesus and ask that all of our longings be fulfilled in Him, not the false hope this world has to offer.
Eldredge gently reminds us that Jesus is coming back soon and all things will be restored, so we should not substitute the temporary pleasures of this world for the eternity we have coming.
Prayer
From Page 138 of the book: “Jesus, catch my Eden heart. I put my hope in the restoration of Eden when you return. I give my heart to you and your return. You are the only safe place. There is only one Eden. I give my heart to the true and only Eden, which you will restore when you return. Amen”
Reference: John Eldredge, Resilient, © 2022
Photo by Norikio Yamamoto on Unsplash
