Each of us has a longing for home which is centred around the desperate need to be back in the presence of God. Romans 8:18-25 describes an eager longing, agroaning that dwells within us for the glory that lays before us. Revelations 21 then describes an Edenic city where the people of God who are glorified will now reside with their king. This is a place where God ‘will wipe away every tear, and death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain’ (Rev 21:4)(Isaiah 65:17-25) and he will ‘make all things new!’ (Rev 21:5). Our want for justice will be fulfilled as God will bring it (Rev 20:7-15), our need for love and acceptance will be fulfilled as God will give it (Rev 22:3-5). This will be a glorious era! This is what Paul refers to in Romans 8 when he says that the ‘sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us’ (Romans 8:18). Nevertheless, we long and wait for this day.

What is this speaking of? It is speaking of a return to Eden.

Everyone seeks justice, acceptance, hope, forgiveness and freedom; we all long for this return to Eden. We crave this and therefore do everything we can to get there. The difficulty is, that ultimately we lost it and were sent away because of our sin. It is only by Jesus that we are welcomed and brought back home. This easter we will reflect on this groaning and allow it to compel us to fall before our saviour in hope-filled worship. We will be confronted with the Garden, the Snake, the Cross, and the Empty Tomb; discovering how the gospel narrative leads us back to the communion we threw away.