(From last week) They were going past the last tree in the park when it happened! The squirrel jumped out of the tree and landed on the Professor’s head and bit his ear! The Professor yelled, “Owww” and tried to hit the squirrel, of course he missed the squirrel and his hand hit the gear shift lever and shifted the bicycle/time machine into high gear! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
Then it happened… The bicycle began bouncing like a toad in a washing machine! There was a blinding flash of light and a loud noise like a turtle singing! Suddenly the park and the tree disappeared and …
They ran into a tree! The Professor said, “Ooops!” The squirrel jumped off the Professor’s head and ran up into the tree. All around them were the most beautiful trees that they had ever seen! The trees and the bushes were covered with flowers, and the air was filled with the songs of birds! All around they could see many animals, the animals didn’t seem to be afraid of them! Shane asked, “Where are we? This place is so beautiful!” Shelly answered, “Let’s go exploring and maybe we can find out where we are.” So, they walked quietly through the woods until they saw a clearing ahead and they heard a different kind of noise. It sounded like someone was crying! They peeked around the last of the trees and saw an open field. There was a man in the field, and he was crying as he dug in the ground with a pointed stick! Shelly could not take her eyes off this man! He was the best-looking man she had ever seen! He was tall with huge muscles and had great hair and was so handsome! But he was crying! Tears were coming out of his eyes and they could hear him say over and over, “Why did we do it? Why do I have to work so hard to make such a little bit of food grow? We have ruined everything!” He kept saying this over and over as he dug up the ground with his stick! Shelly noticed that he didn’t have nice clothes, in fact he was wearing the hairy skins of animals, and this made him look kind of like a very handsome caveman!
The Professor Shane and Shelly went further back into the woods so that they could talk. Shane asked, “Who do you think that man is?” Shelly answered, “I have no idea, he is dressed like a caveman, but he looks so perfect. Why do you think he is crying? What has he ruined?” They didn’t know the answers to this question. As they were talking, suddenly there was a noise like large animals coming toward them! A family of moose came up behind them! The Professor jumped in front to protect Shane and Shelly! The Mama Moose sniffed the Professor, then her long tongue came out and she licked the Professor right across the face! The Professor said, “Ooops! I’ve been Moose-licked!” Mama Moose responded by slurping the Professor again! Meanwhile Shane and Shelley were playing with two extremely cute baby Moose! Just then there was another noise! This noise was different, it was like the sound of very quiet footsteps of a very big animal! A huge lion stepped in front of them! The Professor turned and ran from the lion! He ran right into the tree and said, “Ooops!” The squirrel jumped onto the Professor’s head and bit his other ear! Shane said, “I don’t think we need to be afraid of these animals, they are friendly! He went over and very carefully petted the lion, and then climbed up onto his golden furry back! Shane said, “It’s just like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia!” Shelly climbed up onto the Daddy Moose, and the Professor said, “I need an animal to ride too!” The Professor looked at the Mama Moose, but she just licked him again, and the Professor said, “Ooops!” Just then a bony bumpy dinosaur came up to them, and the Professor climbed onto the bony bumpy dinosaur.
They took off on the ride of a lifetime! Shane was riding the awesome lion, Shelley was riding the magnificent Daddy Moose (with the two baby moose running beside them), and the Professor was riding the bony bumpy dinosaur! Mama Moose was running beside the dinosaur and every once in awhile she would moose-lick the Professor! The Professor kept saying, “Ooops! Owww! Ooops! Owww!” as he bounced along on the bony, bumpy dinosaur! They went through beautiful forests, over hills, past waterfalls, and across rivers! It was more beautiful than you can imagine. They wished that this ride could go on forever (except for the Professor, he was getting very sore)!
After awhile they saw in the distance a garden that was more beautiful than anything they had seen yet. The garden glowed with light, and in the very middle of the garden there was a huge tree! It was the biggest tree in the world, and life just seemed to flow from it! The Professor, Shane and Shelly wanted to explore this garden, so they turned their animals in that direction. They were almost there when it happened!
They saw a huge creature outside the garden! It looked like a human but was much bigger than the biggest giant you can imagine! This creature held a huge sword that was made of fire! The creature raised the sword and came running toward them! The lion, moose, and the dinosaur spun around and ran away from that garden as fast as they could! They did not stop running until they got back to the forest where they had first met the Professor, Shane and Shelly. The animals tossed the Professor, Shane and Shelly on the ground and they kept running! The Professor said, “Ooops!”
Shane picked himself up off the ground and said, “What just happened? What was that beautiful place? What was that giant creature? Why was it mad at us? Where are we?” Shelly answered, “I think I have it figured out. We are in another Bible story. She took out the Bible and opened it to the very beginning. The story is found in Genesis chapter 3 verses 21-24 it tells how God kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden after they had sinned. God had an angel, with a flaming sword, guard the entrance to the garden. That huge tree in the garden must have been the tree of life.” Shane asked, “Do you mean that the man we saw earlier was Adam? Let’s go and find him again!”
The Professor, Shane and Shelly went to the edge of the field where they had seen Adam trying to grow food. They got there just in time to see Adam leaving the field. He was following a trail that went up a steep hill. The Professor, Shane, and Shelley followed Adam very quietly. At the top of the hill there was a cave with a small hut built across the front of it, but they hardly noticed the cave or the hut because of who they saw there. The Professor said, “That’s the most beautiful woman in the whole world!” Shelly said, “That’s Eve! God made Adam and Eve perfect before they sinned! Just think, someday when I get to heaven, I will look like that!” Then Adam began crying again, and Eve was crying too! They kept saying, “Sin has ruined our lives, if only we hadn’t listened to Satan and eaten that fruit. Then we could have lived perfectly with God forever! Now we have ruined everything!”
Then a quiet voice answered Adam and Eve, “Yes you have ruined everything, but I still love you. I will send a Savior to pay for your sins and all your children’s sins. Someday, at the end of the age, I will destroy sin, and make everything new, and I will live with my people forever!”
Shelly whispered quietly, “I think that was the voice of God!” Adam and Eve were still crying, but now they had a look of peace on their faces because God still loved them and had promised a Savior.
The Professor, Shane, and Shelly had never seen such sadness or heard such a precious promise. They knew that they should not interrupt this moment, so they quietly went back to the bicycle/time machine. While Shelley turned the handle on the side of the time machine, the squirrel jumped onto the Professor and bit his ear again, then ran up the tree. Then they all got on the bicycle/time machine and began pedaling. Mama Moose came galloping out of the trees, just before she could Moose-lick the Professor, the Professor leaned over and licked Mama Moose! Mama Moose said, “Ooops!” The Professor shifted the bicycle/time machine into high gear!
Then it happened… The bicycle began bouncing like a toad in a washing machine! There was a blinding flash of light and a loud noise like a turtle singing! Suddenly the forest, the Garden of Eden, and Mama Moose disappeared and….
Application:
Think about how cool it must have been for Adam and Eve when they lived in the Garden before they sinned.
In Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, God promised Adam and Eve that one day the offspring of a woman would defeat Satan. Jesus was the Savior that God promised to Adam and Eve. He was born to a woman named Mary and was the Son of God, but also human. Jesus lived a perfect life (because He was God) and allowed Himself to be killed on a cross to pay for the sins of humans. He could pay for our sins because He was also human. The good news is that He paid for our sins. Our part is to believe in Jesus and ask Him to forgive our sins and give us a new life in Him. In the Bible in Acts chapter 16 verse 31 it says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…”
Revelation chapter 21 verses 3-5 says, “I heard a loud shout from the throne (in heaven) saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’ And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new!’ And then he said to me, ‘Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.’”
Think about how it will be to live in a place where there is no death, pain, crying, or mourning. The best part is that we get to hang-out with God forever!
But remember, the only way to get to this wonderful place and spend eternity with God is to come to Jesus with a sincere heart, believe in Him and ask for the His forgiveness.