The Kisses Of Heaven

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  Genesis 1:26a  ESV

Man is made in the image of God.  Originally, he had full understanding of divine things.  There were no flaws or mistakes in his thinking.  He had intense desires to walk God’s path without a trace of misgiving.  He was able to see God, hear Him speak, and walk with Him in friendship in the cool evening hours.

Heaven and earth were in Adam.  He had a body made of earth and a soul made of heaven.  He was perfect.  Holy like his Creator.  He was communicative, creative, trustworthy, and a righteous administrator of all God asked him to govern.  He was the perfect husband, Eve the perfect wife.  But Adam and Eve will lose it all.  They will rebel and bear the guilt of creating mutiny against the God who gifted them with perfection. 

Mankind still groans under the burden of fallenness.  Creation is in mourning; weeping for what was lost.  People break under the sadness of the times, under the curse of sin that eats away at their psyche like cancer.  Even Christians are bending under the weight of it.  But can I ask?  Do we not know our future?

All is not lost.  Jesus came as the last Adam to redeem what was lost in the garden.  He died to give us the chance to, once again, be holy – as He is holy.  We are invited into a re-parenting process by His Father to be perfect image-bearers once again.  Daily, through our willingness to own what is flawed and then repent, God sets us apart from the curse of the fall to be like the last Adam.

And when we die, that full restoration will happen instantaneously.  We will be with God, walking in the cool in the evening.  We will know what it’s like, firsthand, to have divine thinking.  We will be in the prime of life, healthy and energized, to enjoy kingdom life to the fullest.

There are moments that are perfect here on earth, ones I’d like to freeze-frame.  When they are over, I can be depressed.  Those perfect moments, however, will not be interrupted in heaven.  We will all be glorified, living in the presence of God where color, creativity, and communion will exceed any perfection we have ever known here.  The kisses of heaven did not end in Eden.  They were simply paused.  God’s proximity and presence were restored again at Calvary.

How much I will bear Your image today is my choice.  Rule in me today.  Conquer sin and death.  Live in me as You did in Adam.  Amen