The Garden Within: Tending the Heart God Planted in You
By Nicole Boyd
When we read about the Garden of Eden, it can feel like a distant story—something that happened “back then.” Some believe that the Old Testament is no longer relevant to us, since Jesus has already come and we live in the New Covenant of Grace now. However, Jesus did not come to abolish or do away with the Old Testament or Covenant, but to fulfill it. It is said that the Old Testament acts as a “schoolmaster” to prepare us for the New. We cannot understand the immense gift of what Jesus did on the cross without all that came before it.
What if Eden is not just history, but a picture of what God planted inside us? Scripture, and even biology, reveals that the garden is not only a place for us, but a place within us. As I have been going through my most recent MIT study book, “Old Testament Survey” I was reminded of something I got to speak about on one of our She Is Podcast episodes a few months ago.
Two Trees, Two Ways of Living
Genesis tells us that in the middle of the garden stood two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These represent two very different ways of living:
Tree of Life → Covenant of Grace, life in the Spirit.
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil → Covenant of Law, life in the flesh/natural mind.
Paul echoes this contrast in Romans 8:6:
“For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
When we feed on the Tree of Knowledge—leaning only on human reason and self-reliance—we reap anxiety, depression, and chaos. Just like Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused the Fall of Mankind, so our partnership with the things of this sinful world cause all sorts of havoc in our lives. But when we draw from the Tree of Life , we find peace, joy, creativity, and true connection with God.
The Garden in the Heart
Genesis 2 says God planted the garden “in the East.” Interestingly, your heart sits slightly to the east side of your body. Even our physical design mirrors creation.
Dr. Anti Phillips has pointed out how the parasympathetic nervous system resembles a tree. Its branching “roots” flow throughout the body, creating rest, healing, connection, and creativity. It functions like the Tree of Life planted within us. I believe that God created science, and the more we study it, the more it will prove exactly what the Word of God says. We know that
God not only created Eden as a physical place on earth—He planted Eden in you. He has woven His story through the very fabric of your physical makeup.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
The River of Living Water
Genesis also describes a river that flowed into Eden and divided into four streams (Gen. 2:10). Did you know there are four main arteries that branch out of the human heart? I find this fascinating! Jesus uses the same imagery of a river in John 4 when He promises “living water” to those who believe in Him:
“If anyone drinks the living water I give them, they will never be thirsty again. For when you drink the water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless life!” (John 4:14)
Just as the heart receives blood, re-oxygenates it, and pumps it out through four main arteries, so too the Spirit flows into us, bringing life, and then flows out of us to bear fruit.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speakswhat the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45)
The Four Rivers of Eden
Each river flowing from Eden carries spiritual meaning:
Pishon – “Overflowing Increase”
Represents abundance, provision, and multiplication. The land it encircles is rich with gold—a symbol of glory, kingship, and refinement.Gihon – “Gushing/Bursting Forth”
Symbolizes joy and the Spirit’s outpouring that cannot be contained.Hiddekel (Tigris) – “Swift Flowing”
Represents clarity, swiftness, and the sharp discernment of God’s Word.Euphrates – “Fruitfulness/Abundance”
Points to harvest and blessing, reminding us of the fruit of the Spirit.
God’s design is consistent: what He does in creation, He echoes in us.
Tending the Garden of Your Heart
Eden means “Land of Delight.” And that is exactly what your surrendered heart is to God—His delight. But just as Adam was placed in the garden “to work it and watch over it” (Gen. 2:15), we are called to tend our hearts.
Watch for foxes (Song of Songs 2:15). Small compromises and distractions can undermine what God has planted.
Guard your heart with the Word (Proverbs 4:23). When God placed cherubim and a flaming sword at Eden’s entrance, it was mercy—protecting humanity from eternal separation. Just think of what would have happened if Adam and Eve had been allowed to eat of the Tree of Life after they had eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? They would have been stuck in that sinful, separated state for eternity! Today, the Word of God guards our hearts from lies and fear.
Let the river flow. The Spirit was never meant to be contained; He flows into us and out through us in fruitfulness. It is not only for ourselves that we have a river of life flowing from us, but for those around us.
The Garden Restored
Through Jesus, we are invited back into the garden—not a physical one, but the inner garden of communion with God. I love how digging into scripture, and yes, even science, can lead us into an even deeper understanding of how amazing God is! Our heart becomes the Holy of Holies, the place where His presence dwells.
You are not just tending a garden; you are the garden.
You are His inheritance, His delight, His promised land.
And He is yours.