August 6: Life-Giving Reconciliation

And so it is written, “The first man Adam was made a living being.” The last Adam . . . a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45

And the LORD GOD formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (or soul). Genesis 2:7

Paul wrote of some parallels between Adam and Christ. Of course, there are some obvious contrasts: For example, Adam was a created being and Christ was the Creator. Another contrast is that Adam fell into sin and Jesus did not.

But let us look at a similarity: the love that Adam had for his bride was so powerful that he did not want to live without her. Adam set his own death into motion, even though he was not deceived by the serpent. Adam’s decision to eat the forbidden fruit rested upon the reality that he knew Eve would die. Adam’s resolve in the moment was to die with Eve.

While Jesus in no way partook of sin, He chose to become sin for us, taking the ultimate curse upon Himself. This decision was made within the divine triumvirate before the foundation of the world. In this way, He—as a human—would absorb the death penalty for sin that humans would come to deserve. This mercy would be readily extended to anyone who desired to be reconciled with the heavenly Father.

Throughout Scripture, a woman has been a symbol for the beloved people of God: His congregation. He so loved them (John 3:16). The love of the Creator for His people is unparalleled – yet it is held up as a perfect standard in human, married love:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her. Ephesians 5:25

As humans begin to recognize the love our Maker has for us, we are graciously tasked with the mission of inviting others to be reconciled to Him. The greatest privilege in our fallen world is to invite fellow humans into the soon-coming, never-ending Kingdom of God.

…God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Thus, the heavenly invitation to the world is to be issued by the “marriage” union of the Life-Giving Spirit of Jesus and His beloved bride:

…the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Revelation 22:17a