So far, every time Judy and I have been near St. Cloud, Minnesota, we have taken time to “smell the roses.” Actually, many more flowers than roses are involved. The planned chaos of Munsinger Gardens and the passionate orderliness of Clemens Gardens never disappoint us. When we leave, we take a lot of “wow” with us.
This dynamic struck me recently in a Bible study I enjoy with the men at the Lighthouse Ministries here in Lakeland. Over the past several weeks one of the men has become very much alive to the Word of God. The energy-level of his enthusiasm is a thing to behold; but, never have I seen it so vehemently expressed than in the class where we investigated the facets of man’s rebellion in Genesis 3:14-15. I pointed out that Adam recedes into the background, but God has two messages for Eve. One deals with the physical and relational consequences of her choice. The other, not spoken directly to her but rather to the serpent, promises a woman who will have a son who will crush the serpent’s head…
A chair scraped across the floor. The Lighthouse resident sprang to his feet. What followed went something like this.
Him, pointing his finger at me: “Wait a minute! Wait a minute! A woman is going to have a son and he’ll crush the serpent’s head! And all the serpent will do is bruise his heel.”
Me: “Right.”
Him: “DUDE! THAT’S JESUS ISN’T IT!”
Me (smiling, but a little taken aback by the man's energy): “That’s right.”
It was not necessary for me to think how to build on what he said. From that point on, the man exclaimed to the rest of the class a message that went something like this: “Listen to these lessons! They show us Jesus in the Bible! He’s in there!”
As for me (although I have walked through that text many times), this first-timer’s unrestrained joy of discovery made me feel as though I was seeing it for the first time. “DUDE! THAT’S JESUS ISN’T IT!”
God, grant me the joy of discovery
even in the re-discovery of the chaotic and formal beauty of Jesus in the
garden of Your Word.
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