In the documentary Back to Eden (have you watched it yet??), the main gardening principle is that the garden needs a cover. “It’s all about the covering,” the web site boasts. Paul, the gardener, has found out over the last some years that wood chips is the best cover. He says the wood chips serve many purposes. It keeps moisture in so they don’t dry out, after time, it breaks down into wonderful compost feeding the plants, and it protects it from seeds from weeds.
The aspect of the film I love most is how Paul relates his gardening to God. The Bible is rich with gardening imagery and Paul is so passionate about what God has shown him in his own garden. The clearest to me is that this covering he has found to be the key to his garden points to our covering, Christ.
Romans 4:7 says Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
I love the definition I found where it says our sins are “covered so as not to come to view”. God doesn’t see our sins, he sees our perfect covering, Christ.
But what I love about the film is that Paul reminds us how nature is made so that from creation, we would know God (Romans 1:20). He begins talking about the covering by saying how in nature, everything is covered. Dirt is covered by grass, trees are covered in bark, we are covered with skin, fish have scales, birds have feathers, bears have fur. And while it wasn’t shocking news, something about that just connected with me so deeply.
I started looking around and not only does creation scream out about Christ, man’s creations do the same thing. Carpets cover floors, rugs cover wood floors, paint covers walls, leather covers couches, my shower has a cover, my blanket covers me. It’s nearly endless. Wrapping paper covers gifts, DVDs have covers, books make the covers awfully important, paint covers canvases, glass covers pictures, pools have covers, cars have covers, lamps have covers. I mean, all the sudden, all I could see is covers everywhere. And for me, it was like I’d look at one thing and see a cover and it would be “Jesus!” and then I’d see something else covered and it was “Jesus!” and one thing after another it was, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!” It reminds me of A Walk with God from a few years back.
Just look around you, I promise you will find coverings of all sorts and in those, see a Savior who is willing to fill you so you don’t dry out, feed you with exactly what you need, protect you from harm, and hide your sin. Go ahead, go see your Savior.
Oh I can’t wait to watch this! I got in bed last night all excited to push play and woke up this morning with the iPad next to me. Fail.
I do have one question, though. Truthfully I’ve had this question for years and just never found an answer that makes sense. I know that our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus. But the Bible also says that when we sin it separates us from God. So which is it? If my sins are covered & God doesn’t even see them, then how am I also separated from Him? I’ve always been confused by that. Halp pleeze!
Final question, I swear. Usually when I leave a comment on your blog I get a notification via email that you (or anyone else) replied to me. But in the last week that has stopped. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks again for sharing this mini-movie. I can’t wait to watch it!
OK, I think both are true but at different times. Before you come to Christ, your sin separates you from God. Have you ever seen that drawing of two cliffs with a canyon in between? That is what sin does between man and God–separates you. People usually draw a large cross in between so that Jesus is the “bridge” between man and God. The cross is what covers our sin when we accept that it does. You have to “walk across the bridge” by faith. So in eternity when we are judged, our sins are covered, we are God’s children and no longer separated.
There is another idea of being separated I think worth mentioning and that is when we sin as a believer the Bible says we quench/grieve the Spirit. Ephesians 4 talks about this. We are not separated from God but we can put out the fire and power of the Spirit’s work in our life.
Hope that helps!
As for the comments, I don’t know! I will look into it!
That’s a great explanation, Amy – thank you. I have that head knowledge, but I struggle with forgiving myself when I sin. It’s in those moments in particular that I *feel* so separated from God. So maybe it’s more of my own feeling that’s caused my confusion.
But I suppose my own feeling of shame, guilt, separation from God when I sin is also due to my grieving God’s Holy Spirit. Hmmm. You’ve given me a lot to think & pray about this weekend. Thanks (as always) for sharing your wisdom with me. I truly appreciate it!
Stopping by via allume and am so glad I linked up after you so I knew to read! Wonderful post!
I’ll be thinking about it all day.
and striving to see Jesus.
Thank you!
(and no, I haven’t seen Back to Eden. must look it up!)
Thank you for stopping by, Nikki! I wrote about Back to Eden a few posts ago. It’s so, so good. You can see the full film at http://backtoedenfilm.com/
That documentary sounds delicious. Will have to watch for it! May He always, truly, be our covering.