Jesus is referred to as the last Adam and the second man. Hmmm. I wonder why? Why that order of words? Why not, the second Adam and the last man? In fact, Paul deliberately used those words. Lets look at the text:

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.
The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. (I Corinthians 15.45-48)

When Paul wrote verse 45, he was quoting Genesis 2.7  “And man became a living being”. Paul added in the words “first” and “Adam” deliberately to make it “The first man (Gk. anthropos), Adam (Gk. Adam), became a living soul” and followed it up with mention of the second Adam.

In the very next verse, he mentions Adam again, this time calling him the “first man” and again follows it up with mention of Jesus – instead of the last Adam, he now calls him the second man.

There is a specific reason for this. God created Adam and Eve and set them into a perfect world. And wanted them to live a life of fellowship with Him. But, the first Adam sinned and dragged the entire human race down with him. Ever since that point, we have been living apart from God. Then God, seeing our helplessness to save ourselves, sent His Son, Jesus Christ. The last Adam. Jesus lived the kind of life that Adam and mankind were supposed to live but didnt. As the last Adam, Jesus fulfilled every requirement of the holy law of God. Wherever the first Adam failed, the last Adam succeeded. Then at the end, after demonstrating the ideal Adamic life, Jesus died. The Last Adam died. When Ken Watanabe died in that 2003 movie as the Last Samurai, it signified the end of the samurais. When the Last Adam died, it signified the end of that particular human race.

Three days later, Jesus rose again. No one had done that before. He didn’t rise up as the last Adam. That race was done with. He was beginning a new race, if you will. A Second race. The first human race that began with Adam in the Garden of Eden ended on the cross in Golgotha. Now, manifested in Joseph’s Garden outside the city of Jerusalem, the Second man arose. And He began the second race. A different race. No longer will we be under the curse and the hopelessness of that first race. In Jesus Christ, we are a new race. Thus when we become believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t become like Adam before he sinned in the Garden of Eden. No. We become part of the new race that Jesus started. A victorious race living under the blessing of the life of Jesus. A new kind of being, even better than Adam. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

Jesus was crucified as the Last Adam and was resurrected as the Second Man.

We experience many joys in life. Inevitably, we also face many troubles in life. Some people face more troubles than others. We have  both joys and sorrows. Even though it seems to alternate, usually the joys and sorrows are present in our lives concurrently. However, at different times each person feels his sorrow more acutely and at other times he feels his joy more than his sorrow. Of course, sometimes both sorrow and joy may seem evenly distributed at which time we think that things couldn’t go better.  Thus at any point in time we are experiencing either sorrow or joy. Also, at any point in time someone we know is experiencing either sorrow or joy.

Where does all this sorrow come from? There are several sources:

1. From our own silly mistakes. We face the consequences of our actions after we have done what we shouldn’t have. We have reaped what we have sown.

2. From the devil. The evil one prowls around like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour. (I Peter 5.7) The more a person tries to get closer to God, the more the evil one tries to attack him. That explains why one faces more troubles, initially at least, when he decides to come closer to God.

3. From the world. This includes any attack from any person, system or worldly authority. (Getting a parking ticket is not an attack from system of the world, it is because of our own momentary impulses. See point #1 above:). This also includes any oppression that we may face from any person or system. This includes the recent degradation of human life and the ease with which human life can be taken away in the name of research and choice. Sadly, it is easier to kill a human being that has the breath of God than to kill domestic animals. Policy changes in different states also reflect how far away we are wandering from God

4. From the Lord. The omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent Lord brings sorrow so that can depend on Him and be more useful in His service. The omniscience of the Lord guarantees that He knows exactly what He is doing and how much of sorrow is necessary. The omnipresence of the Lord assures us of His presence with us as we go through the sorrow. The omnipotence of the Lord resists every attempt of Satan as he tries to defeat us when we are down.

What do we do when we hear that someone is facing a sorrow. Lets say that we heard about a friend or relative who is going through extreme sorrow.  What is our reaction?

Three of the many reactions we experience are:

1. Judgment. We may tend to judge a person who faces sorrow resulting from his personal mistake. “Oh oh, he should have known better. If you put your hand in the fire, it will get burned”, we think. This usually stems from a holier-than-thou attitude.

2. Sympathy. This includes any emotion of sadness. There is a range of emotions in this category. A courteous nod-of-the-head empathy, a sympathetic response, sadness that such things could ever happen, identification after having gone through a similar experience or vicarious grief like a parent who feels for a suffering child.

3. Anger. This includes anything from a mild irritation to a murderous rage. This anger can be directed at the source of the sorrow. Sometimes, we even dare to get angry at God. (Akin to a little skinny black ant shaking one of its six minuscule feet at an NFL nose tackle. Yes. Ridiculous.) We also get angry at either the person or the system that is causing the sorrow. In the recent past believers have reason to be angry concerning the different laws that are being enacted that oppose the holy writ of scripture. Blatant sinful living is becoming more and more permissible and we are angry and rightfully so.

Any of these emotions are valid and probably justified. But.. and this is the most important point  I want to make … God cannot work through judgment, sympathy or anger (unless we go out and actually do something about it). If we feel judgmental or sympathetic or angry…that’s normal and human. But it is useless too. Our emotions in this context are completely useless if we don’t get down on our knees and pray for the person and the situation. Unfortunately, that is what happens too many times. We spend hours talking about situations that a friend or relative or country is in, exhibiting judgment, anger or sympathy. But unless our emotions are translated into prayer, it is all useless. What does God do with our third party anger? Nothing. Our sympathy. Nothing. Our judgment. Absolutely nothing. But with our prayer?

If thou shouldst never see my face again.
Pray for my soul.
More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of.
Wherefore, let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day

Alfred Tennyson, The Idylls of the King, ‘The Passing of Arthur’

It is part of the genius of Christianity that any believer can become a warrior in the battle at any time and in any place and make his influence count to the ends of the earth and high in heavenly places, simply by engaging in prayer. By praying for missionaries a believer can place himself in a canoe in the Amazon, in an igloo in the arctic, in a tent in the Sahara, in a submarine in the bottom of the ocean, in a plane high in the stratosphere. He can ward off from the missionary dangers in the jungle, diseases in the city slum, disasters in the deep. He can arm the missionary’s witness with supernatural power, lift him from the threshold of despondency, rout the unseen foes that lurk in the spirit world and strengthen his hand in God. By praying in the spirit, the exercised believer can conquer time and space and have a share in the battle.

John Phillips, Exploring Romans

What was our reaction the last time we heard about a sorrow or a anti-God policy. Whatever it was, the odds are that we ended up not praying about it. Two minutes of prayer is more effective and powerful than 1000 hours of angry, sympathetic or judgmental conversation. Until we pray, we have just exhibited useless emotions.

Anush

Our first daughter, Leah Suzanne was born one week ago. Since her arrival, we have immediately noticed that her sleeping habits are completely different than our own. It’s easy: she sleeps during the day and is awake during the night. That’s totally fine. Newborns are supposed to sleep close to sixteen hours a day. It’s just that it is different to our schedule. Right now, she is on the schedule that she was when she left the womb. She is not really affected by this dichotomy in schedules. We are the ones affected by this. We get less sleep at night and stumble during the day and hope that one day she would finally come around to behaving like we do.

It is so amazing that that is exactly how believers live in this world. The moment we start a relationship with Jesus Christ, we receive God into our lives and immediately get onto His schedule. Sure, we are living here, we eat regular foods, watch regular sports teams and do the mundane regular stuff. But we are living our lives to a different schedule… a heavenly one. Thus there will be many points at which we differ from the world. In fact, it seems almost imperative that we should have a different schedule compared to the world.

Jesus, during this earthly life, lived on a different schedule. He lived on his Father’s schedule “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.” John 12.49. That is why His life was different. It was holy. It was pure. Sure, He was on earth, but his schedule was dictated from heaven.

It is just a matter of time before Leah gets accustomed to our schedule. Sooner or later (hopefully sooner than later!) she will start sleeping when the rest of the time zone sleeps and wakes up when they wake up. On the contrary it is a sad situation when a believer starts to get accustomed to the schedule of the world. He has let himself become squeezed into the mold of the world (Romans 12.2 JB Phillips transl.) So, though it is good for my daughter to get accustomed, it is imperative that a believer continues to have jet lag.

Anush

Pic:  Leah, during her daytime sleep.

During our family devotions last night, we stumbled upon a powerful verse of scripture. It is found in the Second letter of Peter 2.9. “The Lord knows … to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment”.  Under punishment for the day of judgment.

Does God punish now? Apparently not. Now is the age of grace. No one is punished. No one is reprimanded. Everyone is free to do what they want. Everyone has the choice to do as they please. That is why sometimes one wonders how God allows wickedness to proliferate as much as it does. God is not blind or deaf. He sees and hears everything that is going on. But He chooses, yes, inspite of what would be His holy natural inclination, God chooses not to interfere right now. He has given us the answer to our deepest need – His Son Jesus Christ. After the death of Jesus on behalf of humanity, God is waiting in the background to see how people respond to His offer of salvation and freedom.

Some people have responded for their own good to this wonderful offer of salvation. Some others have not. Not accepting the death of God’s Son amounts to a serious spurning of God. “How much more severely  do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood (of Christ)…” (Hebrews 10.29)

If God does not punish now for the heinous crime of rejecting Him, then that punishment is coming very soon. All the sins of those who rejected Jesus are being stored up for the day of judgment. That day will be a terrible day for many. It is as if the Waterford Crystal in Times Square is counting down the seconds to judgment day. On that day, all at once, God will add the punishment of all sins committed and bring the ball crashing down and eternally punish those who have rejected the death of His only Son. Right now they walk around completely oblivious to the disaster that is hanging over their heads. Life goes on like normal. But one day it won’t. Maybe that somebody is you. Maybe it is a close family member. Maybe a colleague or classmate with whom we can talk about everything under the sun except about Jesus. Before our eyes we will see that ball of judgment fire come crashing down upon them. It is not to late. We can do something about it. We can start talking. We can start today. …Today is the day of salvation….

My 15th month old son, Isaac, has a game he made up in which he throws everything backwards. The game is easy: you take whatever you get and fling it behind you. Yesterday, during his game, he accidentally threw his small multicoloured ball down the stairs. He quickly went to the railings and peered down and even though the ball was very close to him, because of the particular angle that he was looking from, he could not see it. And he promptly sat down and cried. In his little mind, that ball was lost. He probably doesn’t understand forever, but if he could, that ball was lost forever. I was sitting from my vantage point on the couch watching the game and its effect on the player unfold. I saw the ball go over the railings and knew exactly where it was, even though I couldn’t see it. In my big mind, I could easily infer where that ball was, while watching the sudden hysteria my son was exhibiting.

We lose things all the time. Misplaced keys, passports, books, important papers, transcripts. We had it. Now we dont. It is lost. On the other hand, we don’t find things all the time. Instead of losing things, sometimes we cannot find things. Sometimes we scratch our heads to find an answer to some overwhelming problem we are currently facing. Maybe it is an issue of profound importance. “What is the purpose of my life?” Or of significant importance – “Who will I marry” and “How will I make ends meet?”. Or of immediate importance: “I am blanking out on this exam question.” and “What will I say when my boss asks me this.” Anything that we once had and lost or anything that we didn’t have and hope we did. In those instances we are likely to throw our heads back and mentally (or literally) cry hysterically. And all along God knows the answers to the questions we seek.

One of my most favorite verses in the bible is in the book of Daniel. Daniel 2.22 (NASB): ” It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him…” All I need then, is to know the God who knows the answers. The next time you are stuck with an unanswered question and have come to a dead end, a blank wall and want to bang your head against that wall…. We have a God who knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him…

Picture: http://www.shiftedreality.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/darkness_to_light_1600×1200.jpg

We have been feeding, washing, changing, feeding washing, changing our little son for the past 15 months. When he cries, since he cannot verbalize, we make sure that he is not hungry, wet or lonely. We have done this consistently over the last 15 months. When he is hungry, he cries. When he is tired, he cries. When he is lonely, he cries. When he is wet, he cries. Any of these cries can happen at any given time – the hour of the day does not matter. He does not really care if we, his parents, have slept. He needs to sleep, so he cries. He doesn’t care if we have eaten. But when he is hungry, he cries. The point: At this stage of his life, as expected, he is concerned ONLY about himself. (He doesn’t even care that Israel has just invaded Gaza). However, if he is 35 years old and still behaves the same way, that would mean that he is very immature and very childlike. At that point, he is expected to care about his parents (us!) and about his world around him.
Sadly, there are many believers who are very immature in their Christian life. The only things they care about are those things that pertain to themselves. Listen to their prayers – most of it will be about themselves and their needs. “Bless me, Bless my spouse, Bless my kids. I want this, I want that, I want the other”. It is a sign of maturity to be voluntarily concerned about those things that concern God. When was the last time I considered about what is close to the heart of God? Is God concerned about my being able to buy an iPhone? I doubt it. He is more concerned about my colleagues and neighbors who have never come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And if I am ignorant about it, like the 15 month old, I continue to exhibit signs of immaturity.

Pic: http://bp2.blogger.com/_E3rumz-lqck/RgvvVhl3aRI/AAAAAAAAABk/d5WayOudJx8/s400/LetterI_WEB.jpg

One of the oft quoted verses in the first few chapters of the Book of Revelation is ‘ You have forsaken your first love’ (2.4) This chiding is directed to one of the churches in Asia Minor – Ephesus. Interestingly, the remedy for the malady is given in the very next verse. ‘Repent and do the things you did at first…’ (2.5).

Hmmm. Repent and do the things you did at first. Repent and do the things you did at first. Interesting. Very interesting. Mind you, the issue at hand is about love. That emotion that depends alot on feeling. You have lost your first love. Now, to fix it: Do the things you did at first. Whether you feel like it or not. Whether you want to do it or not. Just do it. Do the things you did when you had the first love. Buy roses (or any other thorny plant), go on a date, spend more time, talk on the phone – do whatever you did when you first loved. Pretend like you actually love like you did. And soon enough, strangely, inexplicably, feeling will follow action, genuine love will follow pretense and you would have restored your first love.

CS Lewis says it best: There are two kinds of pretending. There is a bad kind, where the pretence is there instead of the real thing; as when a man pretends he is going to help you instead of really helping you. But there is also a good kind, where the pretence leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you have it already. That is why children’s games are so important. They are always pretending to be grown ups – playing soldiers, playing shop. But all the time, they are hardening their muscles and sharpening their wits, so that the pretence of being grown up helps them to grow up in earnest. (Mere Christianity, Touchstone, NY: 1996 p.163)

Please. Pretend.

Pic: http://www.graphics.iparenting.com/clipart/childsplay/OS47066.JPG

Today we went for the final ultrasound. [Whew, I'm done with all responsibilities regarding this kid:)] Like the earlier ultrasound the nurse could not say for sure whether we were having a son or a daughter. While we watched the ultrasound, we saw the face, the limbs even the rapidly contracting heart. But we wanted to know if we were having a son or daughter. But we couldn’t see it. (You know what the it is!) So the nurse turned to us and said, “Well you may be having a daughter”. We asked for a hundred percent guarantee and of course, she wasn’t able to give one. But if we saw the thing, she would be able to give us a hundred percent guarantee that we were having a boy. The only time that we can be sure that we are having a daughter is when she is born. That proves the existence of God.

Think about it. You can be sure of the presence of something with a little bit of knowledge. But to be sure of the absence of something, I need to have complete knowledge. At the first ultrasound, if we saw it, we would be sure that we were having a son. That is partial knowledge. But if we didn’t see anything, we would have to wait until the birth – ie, until we had complete knowledge to make sure of the absence of something.

Thus for anyone to say that there is no God would have to be God himself, which is logically impossible. For someone to say that there is no God – ie, claim the absence of something – he would need complete knowledge and the only person who has that knowledge is God.

See also: http://www.anushjohn.com/I._Is_there_God.html

As we go through life, sometimes things go the way we want it. Many times, however, things don’t go the way we want it. We have been told that we will reap what we sow. So when we do all the right things, everything ought to fall into place. When we screw up, we will have to face the consequences. So much is known. In addition to this, there is another group of events that happen in our lives for no apparent reason. Things happen for which is there no logical explanation for the why and wherefore. Sometimes things seem to be falling into place, we get progressively excited about it until finally everything collapses down and what we intended does not happen.

In the summer of 2002 I applied to Sheffield University in London for an advanced education in Orthodontics. I was in India at that time. There were a lot of obstacles before I could even complete my application. I had to get references from different people before the application deadline. This did not seem remotely possible. Somehow, miraculously, I was able to contact the appropriate people and get them to send the letters just in time. I also overnighted the application so that all my papers were on the coordinators desk on the morning of the deadline. I called and found out that they had indeed received all the documents and all my application was complete. Praise God.

Two weeks later I received a letter saying that they had rejected my application.

What?! After all that?? Everything seemed to be falling into place! Apparently it wasn’t. Nothing was really falling into place. Many questions arise. Why did God lead me on thinking that everything was gonna be alright when it wasn’t? As each obstacle was overcome, I unnecessarily got excited and even praised God! All for nothing, it seems. God could have easily stopped it right at the beginning. I would have been kinda upset. But that would have been better than getting my hopes up and then finally everything crashing back to earth.

Maybe you have been “lead” to believe that things have been working out regarding a particular job you are seeking or a relationship you are pursuing or a plan you have recently dreamed. The initial pieces may have fallen into place. You’ve gotten excited. Maybe this is God’s will. Maybe finally things are starting to look up. Maybe… Then as you were walking along that cheery road, you are faced with the horrible realization that you have been lead on. It was a dead end. You’ve wasted time, money and effort. And you wonder why, because right from the beginning you have been praying and seeking God’s will.

This is something that I call the sovereignty tap. Other than the obvious lessons that we can get out of such experiences, I believe that these instances happen as a reminder to us about the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God prevents us from asking the Why question. Rom 9:17ff. The best example from scripture is the story of Jonah. God allowed a gourd to grow up overnight and provide shade to Jonah from the searing heat. And then, God allowed that same gourd to wither up causing Jonah to feel the same way we feel in such situations. Disappointed. Angry that it happened in the first place. Angry that God “led us” to believe something was going to happen.

God allows such things to happen to show us that He is sovereign. Those instances when God gently taps our slumping shoulders to remind us that He is God. Interestingly, our response demonstrates whether we recognize and acquiesce to the sovereignty of God. The fact that we get upset shows that we cannot easily accept the sovereignty of God and justifies the occasional periodic sovereignty tap.

Picture:http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/the_ant_bully.jpg

Driving is different in India than in America. For one, there are about nine times more people. (A third more people in one-third the space). The difference is especially evident in the cities, where the people are concentrated more. The other major difference is the availability of less roads. Narrower roads, roads with  lane markings which are basically irrelevant since no one uses them. Roads with two and three lanes function as one road with one broad lane as the wriggling vibrant vehicular mammoth painfully inches forward. After driving/riding in India for almost a decade under such circumstance, I was placed in a different situation in the suburbs of Chicago. This time, there is snow on the ground, the lane markings are present, but this time those markings mean something – you are expected to stay within the lanes. This was particularly impossible for me to do. It was a lot of effort for me to focus on the lane markings and even more effort to stay within them. I found myself accidently drifting to the next lane and had to constantly correct myself. With experience, however, it became easier and easier for me to stay within the lanes until it became second nature to me. Now (proudly) I dont need to have to watch out that much to stay in the lanes (though I am constantly watching out for any prowling police). However, I still need to keep my eyes open so I stay within the lanes.

Before a person encounters Christ he lives in that one single road oblivious to the lane markings. The lane markings are present however. The lane markings were always present. But the unregenerated mind does not grasp its significance. Once a person meets Christ, his life is changed. Then the markings are obvious to him. But since he has not been moving within the confines of the lanes, he finds it extremely difficult to do so now. But slowly, over time and with much effort, he will be able to insiduously confine himself to the lanes, until eventually it becomes second nature to him. Even then, he will still need to keep his eyes open so that he does not drift into other lanes. But till that time, he will accidentally wander into other lanes. The longer a person has been moving without the restrictions of the lane markings, the longer it will take for him to acclimatize himself to stay within the lanes.

The key is patience and perseverence. Those who are just learning to stay within the markings should not give up. Of course, in the initial stages, there will be more wanderings off into other lanes. There is no need to despair. Just shake it off and come back into the right lane. Slowly, as one perseveres in his attempt, he will stay in the right lane. Also, those who are already familiar with the lanes and continues to stay with them need to be patient with those who are just learning and becoming cognizant of the markings. Give them time, dont constantly honk behind them and exasperate them. They need time and encouragement as they slowly learn to stay in the lanes. With patience and perseverance it is indeed just a matter of time before we all learn to stay easily within the dotted white lines.

Picture: Driving from Oxnard to Pasadena, CA in the spring of 2005