I like epic books and films. The good ones usually follow a pretty simple formula. In the beginning everything is great; there is peace and everyone is in love. Then some calamity or evil disrupts this utopia, and the rest of the story is about bringing everything back into balance. Some of my favorite books and films are of the fantasy nature, and they often add the extra component of the "prophecy". Some future teller foreshadows the coming of a hero or event that will conquer the evil and restore the world back to the peaceful and loving place it began.
I guess you could say that these stories are a case where "art imitates life". For the beginning of my exploration of who Jesus really is starts with a story much like this. The book of Genesis which describes the creation of the world starts with a picture of Utopia. God creates the heavens and the earth with great care. He creates man and woman to reflect His very nature, and in the end He declares that all He has made is "Very Good". This world he has created is literally paradise on earth. All is well. In fact, at the very end of chapter 2 the scene is summed up by saying that Adam and Eve were "unashamed". In other words, they were content with themselves, each other, and the world around them. There was no feelings of inadequacy, guilt, or need to be better or different.
Unfortunately, evil was also present in this world. And the evil one approached Adam and Eve and tricked them in disobeying the one and only condition that their creator laid upon them. The result of this disobedience is interesting. In Genesis chapter 3 verse 7, it says that Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they realized they were naked, and immediately they clothed themselves. When evil came into the world it resulted in shame. The painful feeling of being inadequate. All of sudden they were not content with how they looked, who they were with, and the environment around them. They hid, and from then until this very day mankind hides. We hide behind our clothes, our masks of having it all together, our lives of addiction, and our attitudes of disbelief. But behind all of that is a deep seeded feeling of shame. Utopia shattered.
However, right in the middle of this loss of paradise there is a proclamation of a future hope. God is proclaiming the consequences of this act of disobedience. He tells the evil one that He will put animosity between him and the woman, and between the evil one's seed and her seed; and that her seed will bruise his head, and that the evil one will bruise his heel. In other words, somewhere down the annals of time there will be an epic struggle. This struggle will be between a human being (the seed of the woman) and the evil one. The evil one will get a blow in, but it is just the heel of the hero. The hero, on the other hand, will get a much more effective blow striking the head of the evil one.
So here is where I stand today. God created mankind to live in paradise. A place of perfect harmony where there is complete contentment of self, others, and the environment. However, because of disobedience, mankind now struggles with shame and the awareness that we are woefully inadequate (we label this sin). God's plan from the beginning though was to conquer this problem through a human hero. It seems the main problem for humanity is not just political peace and love for one another, but restoration back to where we were created. A place of no shame. A place where we are content with ourselves, each other, and with God. The solution to this problem is a hero that will defeat the evil one and restore us back to a place where we carry no burden of blame but are at peace with ourselves, each other, and God.
Is Jesus that hero? That is the question!
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