Jesus is your righteousness, and in His righteousness, He has met the terms of the first covenant. Jesus, the Son of God, came through a woman, became sin, though He knew no sin, so that you who were sinful could be set free. This is the covenant of grace. You are free when you receive Him by faith. You are on your way back home.
Yet, I hear the faint cry of a believer, saying, "Yes, but Eden is not here. I still mourn. I know the way and He is the way, but why do I still feel this tinge of sadness?" I hear your voice in my head for I meet you in the nursing homes and have sensed your longing there. I hear you for I cradle you in pastoral arms in the emergency rooms. I hear you for I am one of you.
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In my family, just as in your family, this season marks the beginning of family traditions. One of those traditions is watching old classic holiday movies. The night before Thanksgiving, we were watching Going My Way, a great film from 1944 featuring Bing Crosby. Bing Crosby plays the part of a young Catholic priest, Father O'Malley, who is sent by his bishop to revive a dying parish, led by its pastor of forty-five years, the crusty but good-hearted Father Fitzgibbon. After some initial resistance, Bing, gets close to the old priest. He even learns that one of the heartaches of Father Fitzgibbon's life is that he has not seen his mother, back in Ireland, for forty-five years. As the story proceeds, St. Dominic's church seems to be going well, financially and otherwise. Even the troubled youth have become a touring boy's choir under the magical musical spell of Bing Crosby's Father O'Malley. Various events in the movie lead the viewers to see that the greatest turn around happened in the soften heart of the old priest, and in the hearts of the parishioners of St. Dominic's. In the closing scene the old priest is in front of the congregation, saying goodbye to Father O'Malley who had been transferred again by the bishop. The boys start singing, "Tur-a-lur-alura-; Tur-a-lur-lai . . . " At the back of the church a hunched over female figure appears. It is the elderly Irish mother of the old priest. Father O'Malley had raised the money to bring her from Ireland. Her hands outstretched toward her little boy, shaking with palsy, she moves toward the altar. And her boy, the old priest, steps toward her. She holds him without speaking as her little boy, the old priest Father Fitzgibbon, sobs softly. He is home. And the young priest, the Christ figure in the movie, closes the door behind him. Roll credits.
I could not get that scene out of my mind. The next morning, I told my wife and son how it had moved me. I told them that on days like this and in seasons like this, I long to see my Aunt Eva. My son told me, "Dad, don't cry. Heaven is coming, and what happened to that old priest is going to happen to you. You will see MawMaw Eva again."
The Second Advent of Jesus Christ Will Restore Eden Finally and Forever
The judgment of the devil and the prophecy of Jesus and redemption in Genesis 3:15 is not only fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus, it is the beginning of a new way of life. It is the beginning of the divine conspiracy in the world. The ascension of our Lord, His Spirit being poured out at Pentecost, supernaturally dispersed the light of the promise to the ends of the earth, and that light is still growing. The darkness that invaded Eden, drove our parents from it, covered this world in idolatry and misery, and sent even the natural order of the world into apparent chaos is being penetrated by the light. No, my beloved, the longing that is still inside the believer is the longing for the second coming of Jesus. In Scripture the second coming, is never intended for speculation and fear but is intended to stir holy anticipation in the way we live our lives and to provide comfort. For so we read,
