Chapter 13: Our Place in the Trinity’s Story — Living Between the Gardens
Between Two Gardens
The Bible begins in a garden —
a place of beauty, intimacy, and peace. It ends in a garden-city —
a place of glory, healing, and eternal joy. And here we are — in between.
Not quite Eden.
Not yet the New Jerusalem.
Living in a world where the ground still bears thorns,
but also where seeds of glory are already breaking through the soil.
You and I live in the tension between what was lost and what is promised. And here, in this in-between, the Trinity meets us.
The Story We Belong To
We are not the center of the story — but we are written into it.
The Father planned it.
The Son accomplished it.
The Spirit applies it.
God made us in His image.
We rebelled and broke fellowship. But the Father sent the Son,
and the Spirit now dwells in us — to bring us home.
This is not just history to learn or prophecy to anticipate — it is life to live now.
Your Place in the Father’s Plan
The Father knows you.
Not just as one among billions, but as His beloved child.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God…” (1 John 3:1)
He placed you here — in this time, this place, this body — on purpose.
You are not here by accident.
You are part of His plan to make His glory known.
Your Place with the Son
The Son not only saved you — He invites you to follow Him.
He walked the dusty roads, bore the cross, rose from the grave — and now calls you to walk in His steps.
“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.” (John 12:26)
You share in His sufferings now. You will share in His glory then.
Your Place with the Spirit
You are not left to figure this out alone. The Spirit lives in you —
to guide, comfort, convict, and empower you.
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25)
He is not just fuel for your journey —
He is your closest companion on the way home.
The Work of Your Hands
While we wait for the final garden, our task is not just to endure — but to cultivate.
We plant seeds of truth in the soil of this world. We reflect the light of God into the darkness.
We work for justice, mercy, and love —
not to earn His favor, but because we already have it.
Your work — however small it feels — is part of the great story of restoration.
The Hope of Your Heart
This in-between life is not easy. We feel the ache of what was lost. We see the pain of a broken world.
We long for what we can hardly imagine. But we do not wait in despair.
“We wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
(2 Peter 3:13)
One day, the Father will dwell with His children. The Son will wipe every tear.
The Spirit will fill the earth with glory.
And we will stand — finally home —
between the trees of the first garden and the river of the last.
Why It Matters
Why does it matter to see your place in the Trinity’s story? Because it gives meaning to your pain.
It gives purpose to your work. It gives hope to your waiting.
And because this is the story we are living:
In the first garden, we walked with God and fell.
In the wilderness, we learned to long for Him.
At the cross, the Son opened the way.
At Pentecost, the Spirit came to walk with us again.
In the final garden, we will be fully His, fully home, fully alive.
To live in this in-between now is to live as a child of the story — already claimed, not yet completed.
Reflection
You are not just biding your time until heaven.
You are walking with the Father, following the Son, filled with the Spirit — even here, even now.
The world may feel like a wilderness, but you carry the garden within you.
Your task is to live today as a citizen of what is coming — to plant seeds of the future in the soil of the present.
You are loved.
You are sent.
You are not alone.
You belong to the God of the garden — and He is bringing you home.
Questions to Consider
✦ How does seeing the whole story — from garden to garden — change how you view your life now?
✦ What does it mean for you personally to walk with the Father, follow the Son, and keep in step with the Spirit?
✦ Where do you see yourself resisting the mission or forgetting your place in the story?
✦ What small seed can you plant today that reflects the coming garden?
Prayer
Father, Son, and Spirit —
Thank You for writing me into Your story.
Forgive me for living as if this world is all there is. Teach me to walk with You here —
to trust the Father’s plan,
to follow the Son’s example, to yield to the Spirit’s leading.
Until the final garden blooms in full,
help me live as a child of that promise now.
Amen.
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