Peleg the great, great, great grandson of Noah awakes with the ground shaking.

It must have been the great granddaddy of all earthquakes. The Richter Scale would have exploded as the plates of the earth did a mega shift defying the comprehension of all but the Creator. It made the disastrous tsunamis of the past 2000 years look like ripples in a kiddy pool.

I doubt Peleg knew it—but the earth had just split into Continents. The Bible says nothing spectacular about the powerful event and only mentions the act in passing, giving it one verse in Genesis 10:25 and one in 1 Chronicles 1:19.  It is as if after God created a man and a woman and gazillions of universes, why should there be surprise at dividing the world into seven Continents?

What a mighty, brain boggling God.

I don’t have a clue about what was in his mind. Why was it necessary to divide the one piece of land? Why should I be surprised? How can I possibly understand the surprising acts of God the definition of power?

I grew up in a time when sages thought the incomprehensible only needed patience and research to obtain understanding. There was no room for mystery. I am glad God is beyond my understanding. I don’t want to worship a God who is simple. I worship a God who is enormously beyond my comprehension.

Let me switch gears but not really.

The vision of the garden remains close. I am no longer interested in how God is going to bring about the final step of the restoration, nor do I spend time to second-guess God as to its location. I am OK with a power and greatness bigger than my brain.

Scripture speaks of a New Jerusalem, of lambs and lions at peace and grazing together, of saints raised to meet Jesus descending from the heavens, and of a new heaven and a new earth.

In God’s attempt to describe the garden to me—a mere gnat—he speaks of gold, a beautiful lake, a flowing river, a place without pain, a place without day or night, a place no longer needing sun, moon, or stars, because God’s presence will illuminate all. Peace will reign supreme, I will have a perfect body, and Jesus will be there with the Holy Spirit and his brothers and sisters of all time.

Not bad for a start.

However, it as if God is explaining to me the wonder of the taste of rich peach ice cream, by explaining it contains peaches and cream. I like rich milk and peaches but the total of ingredients and process goes far beyond peaches and cream. It is so overwhelmingly good it is beyond explanation.

The God of surprises will outdo my greatest earthly expectations of the restored garden.

Because Satan messed with the garden, to live on earth amidst Satan’s thorns is a weary process. A full life in an earthly body testifies to degeneration. End of life fatigue is nothing more than the result of man’s garden fall.

I look forward to God’s surprise. I am confident a God whose power splits the face of the earth into Continents is preparing an outlandish response to Satan’s garden destruction.  I will live in a garden fit for the King. Surprise me, God.

Stay tuned. What are your reflections? – Gary J. Sorrells