Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Endings. I love endings. The best part of a good book or movie is the ending. As I work through the plot and explore the characters, I can’t stop thinking about how it ends. 1 Corinthians 15 gives me a glimpse of the end. The end but the beginning. How I live my life today shows how strongly I believe in the end. Whose image will I bear then? Jesus. Whose image do I bear now? Adam. But God’s grace is making me change.
Paul says, “But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.” It’s a process. Where am I now? Am I more like Jesus or more like Adam? Am I living for the end, the resurrection? Or am I living in the present turmoil of suffering under the curse? Do I even see this life apart from Jesus for what it is? Turmoil, suffering, pain always threatening my heart with the great lie. Or do I see this life with Jesus for what it is? God’s Spirit making my thinking; my life; my mind; my choices into the mold of Jesus’ thinking; Jesus’ life; Jesus’ mind; Jesus’ choices. God wants me to live this life for what’s to come not for what’s now. I must live it in the hope of the resurrection. Jesus will make this dead, rotting corpse beautiful. The turmoil of fighting sin. The pain of suffering loss. The pain of watching people I love choose Adam over Jesus. Gone.
The end. He delivers the kingdom to God the Father. Destroying every rule and every authority and power. He reigns until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Death. The last enemy to be destroyed. Amen.
Jesus reign in my life now as you will then.