My family calls this day Christmas Adam. You know, because Adam came before Eve. I know what you're thinking: the Dears are so cool.
On Christmas Adam, we celebrate big. This is the one day of the year when we venture out from eating at our beloved Mexican restaurant and experience other cuisines out there. One year, we had Japanese. Another, we had Italian. This year, we may get really wild and have burgers. And it never hit me until recently how our name for this day could hold a double meaning. Because this whole story of Christmas, this beautiful narrative, really goes back to Adam.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1
Adam and then Eve lived in the perfect Garden of Eden . . . Until the fruit tempted and sin invaded. But on that Bethlehem night in a stable, everything changed again when our Redeemer came to earth.
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." John 1:14,16
God came down in human form to offer us redemption for our sins. He came for Adam and Eve and Abraham and David and you and me. He came to renew all who would believe. He came to give us a new heaven and a new earth—a new garden.
As someone who longs for a green thumb but has trouble following planting instructions, this new garden enthralls me. My husband always says I am like little Zuzu (Yes, Zuzu. I stopped asking questions yesterday with Phanuel.) in It's a Wonderful Life when she gets sick from holding her flower and refusing to put her jacket on in the cold. The thought of something so beautiful growing from such a tiny seed is a skill I will probably never master. But thank God that our Creator sure has.
The hope of Christmas, the hope of this entire season, and the hope of believers in Christ is that this story will come full circle. There will be new blooms. There will be fruit in places we never expected. There will be a day when we cultivate His Kingdom together. There will be fulfillment we can't even wrap our minds around. And there will be no shame: over our sin, over our lack of green thumbs, over whatever weight we are carrying this Advent.
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
Whatever your tradition is this Christmas Adam (or maybe you are normal and don't have one), may we not miss this beautiful redemption story. Adam needed saving, Eve needed saving, and you and I need saving. And by the grace of God, our Savior has come.