East of Eden

Lately, I seem to be having variations on the same conversation with people. Some of these people dear, close friends that I love deeply. Some are total strangers that I bump into the line at the grocery store.

The conversations vary, but the theme is the same.

• A friend at her daughter's birthday party shares her fears about what the world will be like when our kids are grown up.

• A fellow Knoxvillian rolls his eyes and sympathizes with me before we pay the highest price in the nation for a gallon of gas ($4.99, if you need us...)

• A call to a relative outside Houston describes how the hurricane has wiped out her neighborhood and caused her and her friends to hit the bottle hard to cope.

• My mom tells me that there is no gasoline to be found in the city of Nashville.

• A friend of mine over a beer talks about how hard it is for her and her husband to make ends meet even thought they both work and have no kids.

A glance at headlines talks about the Dow Jones having its worst day since 9/11, the U.S. economy on the brink of collapse, political parties hurling insults at one another...all while hurricanes pound our coast and our soldiers lose their lives in two wars that have now gone on longer than Vietnam. Wars that are costing $10B a month to support. They're costing a lot, but what are they accomplishing?

Not to mention record prices at the grocery store, massive layoffs and the general restlessness and anxiety that creeps into so many of our conversations.

The conversations vary, but the theme is the same.

We have lost our way. We are East of Eden.

I just began the new Rob Bell book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and the first chapter addresses the idea that we as a country, as individuals, have strayed off course. Something is not right. He defines Eden as "a paradise, a state of being in which everything is in its right place. A realm where the favor and peace of God rest on everything."

And we are definitely East of that.

But as the problems mount, and the stress intensifies, God reminds us that his grace is sufficient. I was reminded of this by an excellent sermon over the weekend at my church. It centered around how God provided "manna from heaven" for the Israelites for 40 years.

40 years is a long time.

The Israelites found themselves in the "wilderness" for 40 years. Yet day after day, God provided manna from heaven to take care of their daily needs. They had no grocery stores they could go to for a quick meal. No department store to provide ready made clothing. No doctors to help them with the birth of their children. But God provided.

We are in the wilderness today. Yet God still provides us with manna every day. So while the problems we are facing are great, and require each of us to roll up our sleeves and sacrifice in different ways, God's grace is sufficient for you and I today. Just as it was when the Israelites found themselves in the wilderness. In fact, seeking God's will is the only way for us to get back on course. To get centered. To get back to Eden.