In the beginning, God planted a garden in Eden, and it was called a ‘garden of gladness’, it was a place of such beauty, abundance, and full of joy. However, its richness did not stop people from finding something to complain about. And when they found one, they ended up losing the garden. Even in Heaven, such people will find something to complain about in their heart.
Can someone be still happy without being thankful?
The path to Heaven begins in our heart.
God wants us to change our heart.
There are those who do not give thanks even in the ‘garden of gladness’ and the Bible diagnoses such state of heart as “pride”. The deeper meaning of the gratitude is humility. When we can restore humility in our heart while acknowledging that many gifts we are enjoying now are not ours to begin with, our life will be renewed with new gratitude. When we can humble ourselves and be grateful for things like someone’s kindness, the chance to study, and being able to breadth, it will restore in our heart, the ‘garden of gladness’.
Following the shepherd…
Pastor Jiwon Choi