Bringing the Garden of Eden to America

One of my favorite Authors, E. J. Waggoner had an article entitled "The Sabbath and the Cross" in The Present Truth of July 20, 1893. You can find the full article at 1888 Most Precious Message. In that article, Waggoner states:

(W)e find that the Sabbath was given to man at the close of the creation of the earth, before the fall. It is an institution of Eden. See the second chapter of Genesis. Therefore the keeping of it as it was given, must bring something of Eden into this wicked world.

Forgetting Eden

Bringing eden to this world. Our attempts at rest and to set aside earthly pursuits is not to be a burden, but to be a delight. We are called to bring Eden into this world. As we go about doing what we must do in our daily lives, we can sometimes lose the big picture. We can lose focus even as we seek to do what God would have us to do. There are many obligations of family, community, work, spirituality, and other important pursuits that we must engage in as people who are productive citizens. All of these things can easily make us forget who we are and why we are here.

The Great Reminder

The Sabbath is the great reminder, ultimately we want the endless intimate community that consist of God and humanity. We want the close communion that Adam and Eve shared as the model community of faith and love. We want to be relieved of worries about jobs. We want to set aside the paper that we just turned in but fear its quality. We want an even deeper connection to God than we could possible have during this week. And yes "we want a place where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." Praise God that even though Adam and Eve where thrust out of Eden, they got to take a little of Eden with them in the Sabbath.