Encouragement

Heaven, Part 2—The Contentment of the Garden

by J.W. Phillips
03/24/25
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Heaven, Part 2—The Contentment of the Garden

Scripture provides a picture of Heaven different from the first one we just considered. This picture is more rural, rustic, bucolic, and beautiful. The pastoral charm of the countryside is depicted with enchanting appeal.

Whenever people conjure up their visions of paradise, their visions never include honking horns, frantic work schedules, an ornery public, and merchants shouting their wares. Instead, a quieter scene is envisioned—not unlike the place where it all began in the Garden of Eden.

Luxuriant foliage, chirping birds, the smell of springtime in the air with just the right mix of the sun’s warmth and the coolness provided by a gentle breeze! As Charles Finney put it, “Its rivers and flowers and fruits combine everything that can regale the senses and charm the taste.”¹

Ah, to be able to lay back and absorb into your soul the beauty of all that surrounds you—swaying trees, rippling streams, the animals at play. Why, this is more like it! This ministers to you! Wouldn’t it be great to stay here?

As in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10), the Bible tells us that in Heaven, too, there will be a river, a river of life that refreshes and nurtures and gladdens.

In John’s gospel, Jesus makes a contrast between the waterholes of this world (which in time dry up and can never in any sustained way satisfy) with God’s river of living water (John 4:13,14; 7:37,38).

But to appreciate better the meaning conveyed by this contrast, you might want to ask yourself these questions:

What percentage or portion of your life is mere existence, as opposed to abundant life?

How often are you treading water, clocking in time, operating on instinct, versus being touched by God, used by God, and drawn by God into soul-satisfying fellowship with him?

Could it be that you and I are far better acquainted with existence than we are with life?

Well, consider the opposite of this: What if every moment of our lives throbbed with meaning, pulsated with joy, so there was no humdrum existence? This is exactly what the River of Life has to offer.

Also in Heaven, we are told, is the Tree of Life (Revelation 22:2), which like the river we just described was similarly represented in Eden.

You will recall that the psalmist likened the godly man to a tree planted by the river of life which brings forth fruit (Psalm1:3). Now, if this fruit constitutes the nine-character qualities spoken of in Galatians—love, joy, peace, patience, etc. (Galatians 5:22, 23)—that would have to mean that there won’t be any inner turmoil or any strained relationships in Heaven, since the ceaseless partaking of this fruit would prevent all that.

Back in Genesis, chapter 3, we find a most unusual verse, at least in terms of its Hebrew grammatical structure. This verse has God speaking after the fall, after man’s banishment from the garden, but just before the angels had been stationed with their flaming swords east of Eden.

Verse 22 reports God to have said this regarding man: “And now lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—” And there the verse stops, an incomplete sentence, the abhorrent thought too awful to contemplate, much less to articulate!

Had this verse continued, it would have said something like this: What if sinful man somehow got access to this tree and then in that condition lived on and on forever? What a perplexing, painful prospect!

In contemplating it, you might want to ask yourself: Would you want your present life to last forever, or would something around threescore and ten sound better to you?

For many of us, taking the good along with the bad endlessly isn’t an arrangement we want continued.

In contemplating this question further, perhaps you would have to admit that one or more areas in your life are gradually getting worse. While the deterioration may be imperceptible to you, and perhaps to others as well, what do you suppose these faults are going to look like in a thousand years? In a million years? In two million years?

Like a monster, that’s what! And that’s why God sent the angels, the fire, and the swords! It was due to this very fact: For sinful people to live forever would be disastrous!

The garden—a place of restful repose for those who have been redeemed from sin and self and can now partake of this unguarded and ever available tree.

You want the fruit of love? Yes, it is yours! You want the fruit of joy? Yes, that is also yours! You want the fruit of peace? By all means! This and much more are yours to enjoy as you partake of the fruit from the Tree of Life.²

What is especially good about this place called Heaven is that we won’t have to choose between the stimulation of the city and the relaxation of the country. The respective appeals of each are both going to be ours, since there is going to be a coordinated rhythm between the two—the energy and excitement of the city, and the tranquility and serenity of the country.

As you meditate on Heaven, contemplating its reality and endless joys, what stirrings of heart occur?

Are you less frantic about grabbing this world’s goodies and more inclined to make decisions from Heaven’s point of view?

Is your approach to temptations different? Your stamina for trials upgraded? The setting of your affections on things above more consistent, your determination to please Jesus more firmly locked in?

With assurances of Heaven encouraging, you can accelerate your strides toward obedience, bypassing every detour that once sidetracked you.

We will continue our meditation on Heaven in the next post with an agenda to let Heaven’s hope topple every rival to lordship, and elevate every desire that has Heaven for its source.

Some may wonder if Heaven is too good to be true, but, let me ask you: If there were no Heaven, would you believe that God is true?

A perfect God with a perfect Heaven makes perfect sense! And thankfully Scripture fortifies this belief with impressive testimony, as we will come to see in the posts that follow.

Notes: 
1. Charles Finney, How to Experience the Higher Life, Kindle Edition, 2010; Kindle Locations: 1275-1276.

2. On page 246 of his book, God’s Eagles, (Salem, Ohio, Schmul Publishing Company), 1989), G.D Watson observed: “The Tree of life will yield twelve manner of fruits, and yield its fruit every month; the leaves of the tree are for healing the nations. This word ‘healing’ more literally should be translated ‘health preserving’; it does not imply that the nations will get sick … the leaves of the tree will be used to preserve the perfect health of the nations throughout the ages that are to come.”