Advent Series: Day 3

Don't you just love the advent season; bright lights, warm hearts, hot cocoa, family and friends together. We celebrate all we have and maybe even offer sweet gifts and service to those in need. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.

But amidst the beauty and brightness, we often forget the "reason for the season." I'm not talking about Christ's birth either. I'm talking about the reason we needed that precious baby boy in the first place. Why we hope with great expectation and tension. sin.

Yesterday I mentioned how Israel had waited for their promised king to rescue them. Today, let's dig deeper - back to Genesis deep.

We have all heard the story of Adam and Eve - you don't even need to be a believer to know that one. It seems like one of the most depicted stories ever; we see art, articles, documentaries, books, and so much more showcasing the first humans. But we rarely stop and talk about that day in the garden, much like we rarely talk about sin in a time of hope and joy.

'Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. ' Genesis 3:1-7

Could the hardest part of this timeless story be the fact that we see so much of ourselves in Eve? How easily we are deceived by this world and all it has to offer. How quick we are to doubt what we know is true. It's not easy to read, or appreciate, or reflect on.

But this could arguably be the very first sign of Biblical hope we read.

Written just a few sentences below is the ending to the story. God, the greatest author, storyteller, poet, has penned the most remarkable and marvelous mystery ever written. It is in these words that are forged by each single letter; the most glorious and heroic hope to come - the birth of savior.

'So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15

Can you imagine what that guilt must have been like for Adam and Eve? They lost the greatest friendship you could ever possess - one with God. They walked and talked with God face to face. That is, until sin entered Eden. With terrible guilt comes tremendous hope. How Eve's heart must have longed for the day that God promised would come to serpent. How incredibly anticipated and elongated Eve must have been to know that all she had destroyed would be redeemed and restored?

Mary and Eve by Sister Grace Remington.

This picture was drawn by Sister Grace Remington of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey. It is truly a beautiful and breath taking illustration of hope.

The advent season is so merry and bright because it reminds us of the hope we have in Christ. We expectantly wait for the second coming of our beloved Jesus with the same enthusiasm and ache as Eve. We have all worn the look of shame portrayed on Eve's sullen face, and God has held us in his hand with the same glowing compassion and grace that is drawn onto Mary.

Whatever the advent season may look like for you, merry and bright or tragic and turmoil - there is still a heroic hope to be celebrated, anticipated, and expected; the arrival of our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The Messiah.

Daily Scripture: "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31 NIV

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in love and Christ,

Nicole