GET BACK...TO WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED

Greetings Oh Ye Children of Adam and Eve...how does your Garden grow?

Joni Mitchell wrote the song Woodstock...recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young about the 3 days of Peace and Music...as a musical desire to "get back to the garden."

(WOODSTOCK by Joni Mitchell)

I came upon a child of God
He was walkin' along the road
And I asked him where are you going
And this He told me
I'm going down to Yasgur's Farm
I'm gonna join in a rock and roll band
I'm gonna camp out on the land
I'm gonna get my soul free

We are stardust...we are golden...we are billion years old carbon...caught up in the devil's bargain...and we've got to get ourselves BACK TO THE GARDEN.


Joni spoke of the inward desire of mankind...to get our soul free from the entanglement of sin and get back to what was lost in the Garden because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve. (Read Genesis 3:1-24 for full details of the Fall and the cause and effect of the Fall).

The cast of characters is God, Adam, Eve, and the serpent (little s) who we see in later Scriptures is identified as the devil (little d). God gave A & E everything they needed...and restricted them from one tree...the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The day they eat from that tree...they would surely die. (Genesis 2:16,17) The tempter crawled into the Garden and tempted the woman...and placed doubt in here mind about what God said and then countered what God said with twisted lies and logic. (Genesis 3:1-5) While the serpent was talking to the woman...we see that Adam was WITH her, and he ate also. (Genesis 3:6) Later on... the first mention of a car is found..."So He (God) DROVE the man out...and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to GUARD the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-23) This is the GARDEN that Joni Mitchell...and CSNY allude to.

The problem is...that any attempt to "get your soul free"...and any attempt to "get yourself back to the garden." will fail...because...you are "caught up in the devil's bargain"...and only ONE THING can buy off the devil...another's life for the life of the fallen A & E.


The Beatles....who said "All You Need Is Love...and then they BROKE UP."..lamented that they wanted them...and us...to GET BACK TO WHERE YOU ONCE BELONGED.

There really is a cry of the human heart to GET BACK... to where we were created to be. Many people have tried...and continue to try...to GET BACK TO THAT PLACE THAT YOU ONCE BELONGED...by either trying to transcend who they are...or cover up who they are by using everything from metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, drugs, alcohol (the accepted drug), attitude, bravado, intimidation, masks, sexual pleasure, pleasure in general (hedonism), pornographic lifestyles, (FILL IN THE BLANK)...of whatever you use to attempt to GET BACK TO THE GARDEN.


"For if while we were enemies we were RECONCILED to God through the death of His Son, much more, having bee reconciled, we shall be SAVED by His life...and not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have NOW received the reconciliation...therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin (disobedience) entered into the world...and death trough sin (cause and effect of disobedience in the Garden) and so death passed to ALL MEN (Woodstock Generation included) have sinned." (Romans 5:9-11)


"For the love of Christ controls us...having concluded this, that ONE DIED (Jesus) for us ALL (everyone), therefore all died...and He (Jesus) died for all...so that those who live might NO LONGER LIVE FOR THEMSELVES...but for Him (Jesus) who died and rose again on their (the all) behalf." (II Corinthians 5:14-15)

Well...one thing is right..."There is NO PLACE like home."...but it will take more than wishes and dreams, clicking of ruby slippers...or a good witch with a wand to make that happen. It will take more than just being good, sharing all things in common for 3 days at a music festival.

"He (God) save us...not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5)


NOTE: Our problem is...that we are trying to GET BACK TO THE GARDEN on the basis of how we do...on how much we do for others...on our own goodness...and we keep running into Romans 3:10, 23..."As it is written...there is NONE righteous...NO...NOT...ONE...and "We have all FALLEN SHORT of the glory of God." We keep circling back to a garden of weeds, crop failure, drought, etc...in our own strength.

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit." (I Peter 3:18)

NOTE: We keep trying to GET BACK TO THE GARDEN...TO WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED... by trying to die for ourselves...the UNJUST FOR THE UNJUST...and we end up with the same dead spirit as when we started...with the same longings.


FINAL WORDS...FINALLY

The sentiment is NOT wrong...we do have that hole in our soul that longs to GET BACK TO WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED...but the method of filling that hole is like trying to fill a BLACK HOLE in outer space. It is impossible.

The ONLY WAY TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE ONCE BELONGED...is via Jesus.

Sometimes Christians are accused of being closed minded about this thing called salvation and reconciliation to God. We are ridiculed because we don't subscribe to "all roads lead to Rome"... or there are "many paths" to God. The reason that we are so closed minded...is because Jesus is so closed minded.

"Jesus said to him, I am THE way...and THE truth...and THE life...no one comes to the Father... but THROUGH ME." (John 14:6)

As C.S. Lewis states that Jesus is either (a) Liar (b) Lunatic on the same level as a poached egg
(c) Lord.

I choose Lord...the ONLY WAY BACK TO WHERE I ONCE BELONGED.

"Therefore I any man/woman/mankind is IN CHRIST...he/she/we are NEW CREATIONS... old things past away...behold...new things have come." (II Corinthians 5:17)

Love and Garden Kisses
Rodney "Got Back To Where I Still Belong" Boyd