The Fundamental Flaw

It is interesting that the Word speaks of the beginning taking place in a garden.  Humanity begins its story in a garden.   The beginning moment of the human story and the story of creation begins not in a crowded urban area where towering monuments to human ingenuity soar toward the heavens, but in a place as simple as a garden which has as its center the creation the Creator put in place.  Some have suggested that part of our human brokenness is connected to our separation from the place of our origins which is the creation.     

While such a large majority of our people are now urban dwellers, there is still some truth in this condition of separation.  This is not to say that the urban dweller is somehow outside the intentional will of God, but to say that our loss of connectedness to the creation is something which is more serious than might seem to be the case on the surface.  Urban planners give credence to this reality with their plans for green zones in the midst of the city, or the dedication of large green spaces for parks, or the way some cities have brought rivers into their modern urban plans.  Even in the midst of the high rise and the expanding seas of concrete having a place where humanity can experience a moment of being connected to their beginnings is seen as something of importance and value.  And, it must also be acknowledged that the rural dweller surrounded by vast acres can live hurried and oblivious to where life is being lived.   It is a problem common to us all regardless of where we throw our hat.

But, at a more personal level the separation speaks of our being out of step with everything which is around us as well as the lifestyle which God intends for us to embrace.  The creation is not something to be used, but something of which we are intricately a part.  As is the creation, so are we.  As we understand the rhythm of the creation so are we better able to orient our life to the divine intention.  When we live out of sync with the creation which is always all around us, a separation has taken place which can only lead to a loss of knowing who we really are in the plan of God.   Not knowing who we are speaks to the fundamental flaw with which we all seem to struggle as we begin to pay more attention to intentions and plans other the holy ones.