Good Friday. 7:45 A.M.

I woke up this morning thinking about gardens.

Two gardens to be specific; the Garden of Eden, (Genesis 2:8) and the Garden of Gethsemane, (Matthew 24:36). The events that took place in the former screwed up our lives, the latter served as the battleground for our redemption.

In the Garden of Eden, and by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve bought into Satan’s lie. As a result, humanity was plunged into darkness. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Satan attempted to sway Christ as he did our first parents. But lost woefully when Christ said, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Later that same day and in a twist of irony, Christ completely defeated Satan on another tree made into a cross on the hills of Calvary. The enemy’s fate was sealed when Christ said, “It is Finished.”

Jesus’ “finished” work on the cross now ensures that we have access to God through faith in Him, (Hebrews 4:14-16). It also guarantees that we’ll someday spend time walking with God in the garden He originally built for us. “Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;...” (Revelation 22:1-3)

Today is truly, Good Friday! 

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