How far we have fallen. That’s the constant reminder the voice of the Spirit has been repeating to me this month.
How far we have fallen, …since the garden that was planted and watered especially to sustain that man and woman whom God created in the image of Himself.
How far we have fallen, …from such beauty of form, and intellect, and wholesomeness that if Adam or Eve were here in our presence we would be tempted to worship them. Think of someone in your midst right now, you most likely would call them a person. But if Adam were in your presence right now - person wouldn’t suffice as a term. BEING might come close. Vibrance is a word that comes to my mind in description of man pre-fall.

I have looked into eyes, dull
And glossed in pain.
Sunken by shadows; haunted
By Eden, unachieveable again.
Longing mortified by epochs, encircles
Dusty, broken cores;
Stuff that dreams are made of
Returning nevermore.
What once was bright, so vibrant
Behold that cherished being;
Now before me fallen
It’s Adam that I’m seeing.

How far we have fallen. An echo of grandeur still catches our mortal senses now and then; a beautiful clear day in January in Miami, a glimmer of purity in the eyes or the unconscious smile of an infant. I’ve had several weeks after an emotional blow of great loss to feel and percieve that height from which we’ve fallen. I’ve sat with Job, stunned; stunted. To the right and left, and on every street limp men, brothers, fallen from glory. Before us lays the whole world, obsolete, unsustainable, yet… Christ.

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (I Corinthians 15:45)

See how far He has lifted us.

How beneficial it has been to see how far we have fallen as I’ve drawn into Christ for comfort and restoration. He has then reminded me that He re-created me as a new being for a purpose: Unspeakable, unending, joyful, participation in glory. See how far He has lifted us. To fit Christ in the center of our lives we have to expand both ways: to see our need and His redemption. Stretch out all you are and see how far He has lifted us.

Dear friend, do you suffer today a heaviness of unspeakable proportion due to failure, hurt, or loss? Put Christ in the center of your life and replace the legacy and curse which have now caught up to you. It’s not a legacy to which you now are fated. Do not sit with Job for long on broken pottery, for Job was restored, and Adam too; and with him all of a new race. Obsolete in the flesh, eternal in the spirit, redeemed by Christ. A soul that is free is one that is no longer attached to Adam but clinging to Christ. Throw yourself on Him with all your trust and look into the eyes and heart that will never give up on you. It is here where…

Ashes are replaced by beauty,
Mourning with the oil of gladness,
And the spirit of heaviness with a garment of praise.