Day 7 - Returning to the Garden

Imagine that you are in the Garden of Eden. It’s no longer Adam that Yahweh is cradling with a loving hand as He forms him from the dust: It’s you.

The earth and the heavens and the vast universe and the animals and trees and flowers have already been spoken into existence. They’ve heeded the Word of God and come to be. And now Yahweh has entered Earth’s atmosphere from a hovering vantage point, landing in the intimacy of a garden.

While you breathe in the aroma of a million fresh flowers, He is there in the midst of it all. The Beginning and the End. The Alpha and the Omega. He has robes concealing His radiant glory, but His face shines brighter than the sun on a cloudless day. Yahweh’s hand reaches down, touching the earth He created for the first time.

He scoops up the best material, pliable yet firm clay soaking up some of the moisture from the stream. He smiles because He carries a great secret.

The earth gives way beneath His hands, which are calloused yet somehow unworn. They have witnessed ages pass by, yet they are still soft and warm, like the tender palm of a young father grasping the hand of his son.

For the first moment in history Yahweh can be seen by the rest of creation in a position of vulnerability, getting His hands dirty in the mud, slime, and dust of the earth. This is your Father and this is God, a masterful sculptor. He begins to form and shape you. Remarkably, you take on His character, His shape, though you still feel as though you are only dust.

Then Yahweh, cradling your head with compassion unmatched since the creation of the world, draws you within inches of His face. His glory at this distance is unfathomably bright, and the weight of His presence threatens to pull apart the very cells of your being.

An explosion of creativity is about to take place. An explosion of life is about to be imparted. For as He draws you in, He inhales a divine breath, exhaling upon your body, soul, and spirit the sound of His name: YAH…WEH!

While the vast universe was crowned with glory, within the universe you are the crown of God’s creation!

You have been made in His image; in the image of Yahweh you have been created. When you inhale God’s life force for the first time, you come alive. There are no other life forms in Heaven or on earth that have been made as special as you. No other beings were ever labeled image-bearers of Yahweh; therefore, you are a unique and special and beautiful and immensely creative being.

You bear the image of the Creator of everything! You are called to be like Him. God is Spirit. God is love. God is a life-giving, miracle-working, creative artist! You are called to be a life-giving, miracle-working, creative artist!

You are called to breathe Him in so that you can breathe Him out to the world. It’s time to breathe like you have never breathed before.

Prayer: God, I want to live and move and have my being in You. To be all that You have created me to be. I praise you that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that I belong to You. Thank You that I am created for a purpose. May I be found faithful, and may I make an impact as I move and breathe in Your presence and walk out Your purpose. Amen.