Adam and Hope
ADVENT MEDITATIONS: WEEK 1
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
REFLECTION
As we enter into Advent, let us look back and see just how long hope has been part of God’s plan. May we sit in hope as we walk these next few weeks expectantly.
In the beginning, there was hope–
In expectation, God spoke, and the world was made: stars, earth, sea, and sky.
And He called it good.
When He made Adam, He came in close.
He formed him from the dust, breathed life into his lungs, and in that moment, the breath of God mingled with the dust of the earth.
Adam was created with the deepest act of love.
And he called us very good.
Yet how quickly things unraveled for us.
We turned, we sinned, we walked away.
And yet, as judgment became our future. God’s hope became our hope–a promise to undo all that we have done.
Hope has been the theme of the story since the very creation of everything, and of our story since almost our own very creation. It is what ties the true story of the world together–it is the thread that carries us from the creation, to the manger, to the cross, and to the restoration of all things that we long to see revealed.
It’s in this that we hope–that the love of God created us as his beloved children, and it is that the end of the story of all things is a beautiful one.
APPLICATION
Get outside, and spend some time in solitude–even if it’s just right outside your door. Breathe deep, and consider the beauty of the created world, the love that created it, the hope that sustains it, and how much our Father delights in his most precious creation–us.
PRAYER
May we know hope
more deeply–
In the very fiber of our bones.
Let it bind up our wounds,
Carry our burdens,
Set our hearts aflame,
And allow us to rest in
The glory of being your
Beloved child,
And the story you are writing.
Amen.
