A New Year, A Deeper Longing: Returning to Eden Through Christ

As we step into a new year, many of us feel it - that quiet pull in our hearts. A sense that while life may be full, something is still unfinished. Joy comes, but it doesn’t stay. Success happens, but it doesn’t fully satisfy. Rest feels temporary.

Scripture gives this feeling a name.

It’s Eden-longing.

Eden Was Never Just a Garden

From the opening pages of Genesis, Eden is introduced not merely as a beautiful place, but as God’s dwelling with humanity. Humanity was created in God’s image, placed in a sacred space, and invited into embodied fellowship with Him. Eden was a garden-temple where God walked with man, where life flowed from trust and obedience.

Eden was home.

Eden Lost, But Not Destroyed

Through sin, humanity was exiled from Eden - not because Eden ceased to exist, but because access to God’s presence was guarded. Scripture tells us plainly: sin separates. The cherubim stood watch, not over rubble, but over holiness.

Yet even in exile, Eden was remembered.

A Longing That Won’t Go Away

Throughout Scripture - and throughout our lives - Eden keeps resurfacing. The prophets speak of lands becoming “like the garden of the LORD.” Sacred spaces like the tabernacle and temple echo Eden’s imagery. The psalmists long to dwell in God’s courts.

Ecclesiastes tells us why: God has set eternity in the human heart.

That restlessness many of us feel is not a lack of faith. It’s memory and hope colliding.

Eden in a Person

The turning point of the story is not a place - it’s a Person.

Jesus did not merely point us back to Eden; He became the way back. John tells us that Christ “dwelt” among us - literally, tabernacled. On the cross, Jesus promised Paradise.

After the resurrection, He was mistaken for a gardener.

Eden was standing right there.

Through Christ, access to God’s presence was restored - not by innocence regained, but by grace given. The veil was torn. The guarded gate was opened.

Eden Is Expanding

Now, Eden is no longer confined to a single location. Scripture tells us that we are God’s field, God’s building - new creations in Christ. Wherever God’s Spirit dwells, Eden begins to spread.

And yet, we still wait.

Paul describes being caught up into Paradise - a preserved, holy reality near the throne of God. Eden still exists, safeguarded by God’s sovereignty, awaiting a redeemed and resurrected people.

That longing in your heart? It’s homesickness.

Why the Daniel Fast Matters

As we begin this Daniel Fast together, we are not trying to earn God’s presence - we are responding to it.

Fasting is a way of aligning our lives with what our souls already know: that we were made for nearness to God. It quiets the noise, strips away distractions, and reminds us that our deepest hunger is not physical, but spiritual.

This fast is an invitation to live between promise and restoration with intention - to let Eden shape us now, even as we await its fullness.

A New Year Question

If Eden is our true home - lost, promised, and ultimately restored - then a new year isn’t just about resolutions.

It’s about direction.

What would it look like this week for your life to reflect Eden’s values?

• Peace instead of striving

• Holiness instead of compromise

• Nearness to God instead of distraction

The Bible is not the story of humanity trying to get back to Eden. It is the story of God bringing Eden back to humanity - through Christ, by redemption, and into eternity.

Welcome home.

Reflection Questions

• Where do you notice Eden-longing in your own life?

• How does seeing Jesus as the “Person of Eden” reshape your understanding of salvation?

• What is one way you can intentionally draw nearer to God during the Daniel Fast?