I felt led to write this and to choose a specific style that I hope lets your imagination run and gets all the info across. If it doesn’t succeed well in those goals, please grant me some grace. It’s a hard subject, a heart-level subject, and an important one for the church to live faithfully in the future.
The Problem
I heard someone talking about their hometown and how special it was. The context was in the midst of a tragedy. They mentioned how well their town would rise to the occasion after this tragedy… My mind works hard in these moments to sift truth out like fine flour… The tragedy was a truly dark thing, but most likely preventable, so I considered the actual truth about how special this place was. It may respond well to this significant moment, but it had failed in acting to prevent it. No community, however big, small, modern, or old-fashioned, is truly special and every one is very far from perfect!
My Caution
Please do not take any of the concepts in this and extrapolate them too far into theological ideas. This is a thought process to follow, to consider how we talk, the truth of what we say, and maybe a better way to think about them going forward.
Basic Truths
Genesis 3:23-24 (Read it for yourself) puts a fine point on God banishing us from Eden. If you are not familiar with the Garden of Eden, read Genesis 1-3. It was a perfect palace, but we (humanity) were kicked out when we sinned. We are not allowed to go back while sin is present.
God will remake the earth, and we will dwell in it after Jesus comes back. So, there is a ticking clock until we can enjoy Eden again after Jesus returns to the world and remakes it.
We all, and yes, that’s you too, seek to remake our own little Eden in this life. We try to build our own little kingdoms to fulfill what we see as our greatest needs. Every person does this to some degree, whether they believe in Jesus or not.
There is a warning in the Bible against idolizing certain times (The Good Ole Days) and I would contend that the idea extends to idolizing certain places as well. God’s presence is one clear exception to that… It’s always a good place to be when you are in His presence! Read for yourself: Ecclesiastes 7:10 Christian Standard Bible “ Don’t say, 'Why were the former days better than these?' since it is not wise of you to ask this.”
The Assignment
Imagine for yourself exactly how you would create the perfect town/city/civilization! Even though I said we can’t actually do that and that we shouldn’t try, just imagine it. Imagine every institution that you would include. Imagine the housing, the land surrounding it, the structure of it. Then imagine prioritizing everything by size, that is, the most important buildings are also the biggest. Was your church small in your first picture in your mind, and now bigger once you hear that part of the assignment to order things by priority and size?
Reminder
God has us outside of Eden on purpose, and we would mess up any attempt to create something perfect. In any of our imagined towns, did any of us put a giant throne in the middle for God Himself? Even our churches are a far cry from what they will be.
My Appeal
The point I am trying to make, besides how destructive to reality it is for any of us to idolize a certain time or place, is that we are not called to rebuild Eden. Jesus claims that job for Himself. But Jesus does give us a mission! He keeps His jobs for Himself, but He is gracious to give us something to do… Matthew 6:33a in the Christian Standard Bible says “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. That is not a call to rebuild a comfortable Eden but a call to war to advance a kingdom whose King will rebuild the land when the war is done!
Whatever dreams you have of an Eden of your own or an Eden you have for your kids or grandkids, please abandon it as soon as possible. Jesus spends a lot of time in the New Testament telling us what His kingdom is like and how we should live in it. Spend more time on that and less on what an Eden looks like for you. All of our pictures of what Eden should be or is are wrong, but we can get a clear picture from Jesus about what it looks like to move His kingdom forward as we read His words and listen to His voice.
Will Regier