Full Circle

One of my dad's most endearing and yet frustrating qualities was his ability to give directions.  He was one of those, "Take 64th Street West and then head South on 29th Street" kind of people.  (I can hear you snickering.  I take it you know someone like that too!)  He was married to my mother for 55 years, and her idea of giving directions sounded more like this, "Head toward downtown.  Go over the bridge and left at the flag pole."  You can imagine the two of them in the car together!

However, even an incredible sense of direction can sometimes lead us astray.  I remember one time trying to get to a building downtown.  I could see the building, but due to all the one way streets, I could not manage to get to it.  Now, I'm quite certain that traffic pattern experts and other powers that be had very good reason for what I found to be complete and total chaos, but after several turns I finally came full circle and arrived safely at my destination.

Full circle.  It's a concept the Bible is replete with.  Joseph, shown a dream of royalty, took a left at enslavement and another left at imprisonment, before reaching his destination.  Israel, freed from slavery in Egypt and promised to possess a land flowing with milk and honey, headed out in the complete opposite direction of Canaan. (Ex. 13:17-18) They had to make a right over the Red Sea and another right to Mt. Sinai (and several other stops along the way) to finally reach their destination.  Then there's David who was anointed King by Samuel and seemed to be on his way to his destination as he slew Goliath, best-friended the King's son Jonathan, had military victory after victory, became part of the King's family by marrying one of Saul's daughters, but then made a hard and fast U-turn as he ran for his life and hid out in caves to escape Saul's wrath before coming to his destination.  And that is only three examples!

Although the Bible is full of these stories, the Bible itself is a full circle story. Chapter 3 of Genesis we see the fall of Adam and Eve as they are disobedient to God's directions.  We also see God in His great love and mercy begin to reveal His plan of restoration that would be brought about through Jesus (3:15).  But there's something else found at the very end of chapter 3 that, as a child, I found perplexing, and as an adult I have found to be mind blowing!

"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever -"  (vs.22)  *Note that God does not finish His sentence.

You see, Adam and Eve had already eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but that was not the only tree in the center of the garden.  God had also placed the tree of life there (2:9).  Eating from that tree would have caused Adam and Eve to live forever in their fallen state.  (Look back at vs. 22).  So what does God do to prevent this from happening and to ensure His plan of restoration?

"Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.  So God drove out the man; and placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life." (vs. 23-24)

I like what Charles Capps says about this.  "You can see the wisdom and mercy of God in that.  What would have happened if Adam had partaken of the tree of life after sinning?  The curse was already there; so when sickness, disease, and other horrible afflictions began to control man's life, he would have lived throughout eternity with no hope of ever being delivered from the curse."  Whoa!

For years I always understood this passage as being part of God's punishment, but it wasn't.  It was for their protection!  It was for their ultimate good, so their fallen and sinful state would not be permanent; so God could send His Son to put them (us) back into right relation with Him.  How beautiful is that?!  It is also very enlighting.  What has God deliberately kept from me for my protection?  What are the areas I've been driven from for my ultimate good?  It is quite possible that things I've labeled as punishment in my own life have really been from the hand of a loving, protecting Father.

We know how this story comes full circle.  We know according to Romans 5:17-19 that just as the disobedience of one man (Adam) resulted in the fall for all, the act of obedience of another (Jesus) has paid the price for us to be reconciled unto God.  Yes, death came through fruit that hung on a tree, but life came from the firstfruits being hung on a tree.  (1 Cor. 15:20-22)  Amen for God's redeeming work that restores all God had originally set in motion in the very beginning of Genesis ... including the tree of life!

In John's account of Heaven given in the book of Revelation, we see the tree of life come full circle.  According to Revelation 22:2 it is there, in the middle of the city growing by the crystal river whose waters give life, and it yields a fresh crop of 12 varieties of fruit each month.  I was struck by how similar this scripture is to Psalm 1:3.  "And he shall be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper."  This passage speaks of the believer as a tree that yields fruit.  Here are a few scriptures that support this metaphor.

As believers we have been
1. Made a new creation in Christ therefore producing after His kind.  (2 Cor. 5:17, Gen 1:12)
2. Grafted in to the family tree of God's chosen people.  (Roman 11:17)
3. Rooted and grounded in Him. (Eph. 3:17)
4. Made a branch and attached to the Vine. (John 15:5)
5. Called to produce fruit ... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Gal 5:22-23)

Don't you just love how each of these scriptures tie into each other to create a picture that we can more fully understand?  As a meditator, reader, and writer I know God's Word is alive and active because one scripture always leads to another, and scriptures I've known for a long time take on deeper meaning.  Studying God's Word can never get old!  There are always truths to unearth.  Which brings me to my find yesterday.

As I was preparing for this blog I came across Romans 11:16-19 where we are given the picture of Gentiles being grafted in to the Jewish family tree.  I love how Paul uses this metaphor, one that the readers of that time would have completely comprehended ... wild olive tree branches (Gentiles) being grafted on to Olive trees (Israel) to share in the blessings of God.  In order to more fully understand the picture of grafting, I turned to Mr. Webster (aka, the dictionary), and this is what I found.

Graft - a grafted plant; the point of intersection of a scion upon a stock.  (This is what I expected to find).  But then I saw this ... living tissue used in grafting.  Whoa!  The metaphor God gave Paul back in 57 A.D. now has a completely new meaning!  Paul and those of his day would never be able to begin to imagine the grafting of living tissue we know as organ transplant.  However, we today can understand this concept, and also see its clear application to the Church, the BODY of Christ.  This brings about a whole new picture! Talk about full circle!  Gentiles can be grafted into the Jewish family tree of blessing, and Jews can be grafted into the Body of Christ.  And all because of Jesus!  How beautiful!  How intentional!  How non-coincidental!  God is amazingly awesome, and I love that I am continually in awe of Him.

My friend, in bringing this post full circle I'd like to ask, can we trust God through the unexpected twists and turns of life to bring us safely to our destination?  If we can see how God can bring not only the big picture of redemption but also the smaller details full circle, can we not trust His full circle plan for our lives?  He has one He is working.  May we find peace, comfort, and rest in knowing that the Author and Finisher of all things will bring to completion every work that He has begun. (Phil. 1:6)