And at the east of the garden of Eden, God placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the Tree of Life. Genesis 3:24

One of my vivid memories about going to my childhood dentist’s office was the blue illustrated children’s Bible he had. In this Bible was the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. The picture that most captured my child’s imagination was the one of the cherubim with the flaming sword. This angel stood watch and kept Adam and Eve out of the garden after they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the one that God told them not to eat. That angel reminds us that sometimes in life, there is no going back to where we have been. The way is barred to us.

In one sense, Genesis 3 is a story about Adam and Eve, and a story about disobedience. It is also a story about God who reaches out with grace, compassion, mercy, and love. It is a story about God who comes looking for Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening and lovingly fashions clothing out of animal skin for them so they will be protected, clothing Adam and Eve in grace.

As a child, the flaming sword seemed like a punishment for disobeying God, but when I think about the angel barring the way to the Tree of Life, it is a grace. Eating the fruit brought disharmony and strife into relationships and humans learned what it meant to suffer. Knowing us, God did not want us to suffer forever, and so God kept us from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree, they did become like God. Instead of remaining in a blissful state of happiness, Adam and Eve learned wisdom. However, with that wisdom came sorrow and suffering. No longer could humans remain in the garden. Innocence was lost, and humans were forced to make their way into the world.

Since that time, we have been longing to return to the garden. The only way back to the garden is forward through the Tree of Life, where God is making all things new through Christ Jesus.