Good morning…
The first Adam paved a wide path to sin and separation from God. Our human feet just naturally followed. When the moment was right, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, zipped up a suit of skin and came down from heaven to walk with us on earth, blazing a new path for us to return home to God.
Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God (Romans 5:19, CEV). To him who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant [the privilege] to eat [the fruit] from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God (Revelation 2:7b, AMP). Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) are those who wash their robes [in the blood of Christ by believing and trusting in Him…], so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city (Revelation 22:14, AMP).
We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. Physical life comes first, then spiritual—a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. In the same way that we’ve worked from our earthy origins, let’s embrace our heavenly ends (1 Corinthians 15:45-49, MSG).
Working through our sinful, earthly origins and believing that Jesus truly is the Son of God, are we ready to embrace the privilege of eating fresh fruit from the tree of abundant life?
In Henri Nouwen’s 10.6.18 meditation, we are taught the transformational power of eating the fresh fruit of God’s living Spirit. Nouwen writes: “Our faith in Jesus is not our belief that Jesus, the Son of God, lived long ago, performed great miracles, presented wise teachings, died for us on the cross, and rose from the grave. It first of all means that we fully accept the truth that Jesus lives within us and fulfills his divine ministry in and through us. This spiritual knowledge of the Christ living in us is what allows us to affirm fully the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection as historic events. It is the Christ in us who reveals to us the Christ in history.”
…Sue…
P.S. The more we learn of the Christ in history, the more we understand the Christ alive in us, and visa versa. If you are interested in walking the steps of Jesus through the holy land of Israel, I invite you to join my husband, Rev. Steve Allen, as he leads his sixth annual trip to Israel this summer, June 12-22, 2019. Please reach out to me if you would like a flyer outlining the experience, and let me know if you are interested in attending the “Israel 2019” information-gathering session we are hosting at our home in Vinings at 5:00 pm this Sunday, October 14th.
