Hey Church!

One of our early church fathers, Irenaeus (2nd century), wrote about how Jesus’ incarnation by the virgin Mary reversed the curse of Eve: 

So the Lord now manifestly came to his own, and born by his own created order which he himself bears, he by his obedience on the tree renewed and reversed what was done by disobedience in connection with a tree; and [the power of] that seduction by which the virgin Eve, already betrothed to a man, had been wickedly seduced was broken when the angel in truth brought good tidings to the virgin Mary, who already [by her betrothal] belonged to a man. For as Eve was seduced by the word of an angel to flee from God, having rebelled against his word, so Mary by the word of an angel received the glad tidings that she would bear God by obeying his word. The former was seduced to disobey God [and so fell], but the latter was persuaded to obey God, so that the virgin Mary might become the advocate of the virgin Eve. As the human race was subjected to death through [the act of] a virgin, so it was saved by a virgin, and thus the disobedience of the virgin was precisely balanced by the obedience of another. Then, indeed, the sin of the first-formed man was amended by the chastisement of the first-begotten, the wisdom of the serpent was conquered by the simplicity of the dove, and the chains were broken by which we were in bondage to death.*

The Advent season represents the beginning and ending of Jesus’ victory over evil. His first advent broke through the wall that separated us from fellowship with God; His second will usher us into the eternal kingdom He has prepared for us. Likewise, during this season each year, we call on Him to break into our little-k “kingdoms,” where a life of faith runs against the manic cultural tide. 

But beware: when we ask expectantly for God to break through our lives in that way, He will likely answer with a call to radical repentance–the kind that forsakes it all for the greater gift of knowing His nearness and favor. With a fresh outpouring of His Spirit will also come the conviction of sin and our indifference to it. The best way we can prepare our stubborn flesh for such a wonderfully difficult commission is to practice living (today!) as though every one of our earthly possessions, comforts, and ambitions are already lost for the sake of knowing Christ. 

In truth, only our flesh need “beware” of such a sacrifice. Because we know our God, that He is a good Father who will never demand something from us that He does not intend to replace with something of infinitely greater value. Above all, He is the treasure our souls are groaning for. And that’s exactly what the season of Advent is all about. 

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” (Phil. 3:8)

I look forward to worshiping Him together this Sunday!