“The stage is set. We are cordially invited to glimpse into the inaugural event of how and why all of time began. At the nucleus of the very heartbeat of the universe... at the cosmic brink of eternal space beyond measure is a glorious Crown. We have been welcomed to witness the miraculous birthing of its substance. From the original foundations of planet earth, this grand affair will display the essence, reason, and nature of why we exist. For the occasion, we are dressed in dazzling robes of radiant white and placed in the inner chambers of creation’s womb of love to eagerly await one tiny preview at the formation of this Crown… a mere appetizer’s taste! For Love in Action is about to move in epoch proportion! We watch from a distance as majestic clouds of ancient glory begin to roll back. On the edge of all eternity, we are enveloped with a golden mist of brilliant splendor. The sheer magnitude of it all takes our breath away! We are struck with awe. We are filled with wonder. We can barely comprehend what is about to happen! As this profound mystery unfolds before our very eyes, we recognize that we are standing on His Holy Ground. It is astounding! It is extraordinary! It is magnificent! It is miraculous! Our first impulse is to bow down immediately… to fall prostrate on our face and dare not look up lest we die, for we instinctively know that we are about to behold the mystery of all ages. For the hope of all glory and the Creator of all creation is about to arrive: LOVE IS COMING TO CREATE HIS LOVE!
Slowly, the closed curtain of rich tapestry opens up to Eden’s Drama. We hear the living orchestra in the background as it begins creation’s symphonic masterpiece. It is the music of Heaven’s Bliss! We are transported through the hallways of infinite time and unlimited space as we enter into the Most Holy Place to take our seat front row and center. There is a fragrant aroma of new life eternal permeating the atmosphere that we deeply inhale. Our gaze is captivated in reverent worship. All is quiet… hushed in stilled silence except for a melodious Song of Love declaring His glory in the backdrop. We find ourselves at the very height and depth and length and width of all that was, is, and is to come. We strain the fiber of our every muscle forward in rapt attention. Our lovesick heart beats faster as we wait for His arrival. The suspense is sheer agony… as the Truth cocooned for all of eternity is about to burst forth. We hold our breath in captured anticipation. We cannot speak, we… we dare not move.
And finally, LOVE COMES! The One who always was, who is now, and is who is to come has come! We are stunned with fear... mesmerized in rapture… suspended in time and space as the Holy Presence of Yahweh, the Great I AM, the Three in One… enters the Garden. We are undone! He is Fire! He is Power! He is Strength! He is Beauty! He is Majesty! He is Splendor! He is Holiness! The Shekinah Glory of LOVE is pure radiance as He overshadows, surrounds, penetrates, and synergizes all of heaven and earth! His Voice brings chaos to order, light to darkness, and barrenness to life. His spiritual energy of brilliance expands outward in pulsating momentum to reproduce, empower, and multiply creation’s being! The intensity is too much to bear. Even though we may die, we must look up! We must know where we have come from. We must behold the miracle of Divine Breath infusing sculpted earth and fashioned rib to birth new life, for this is His song of passion! This is two made as one joined together in body, soul, and spirit to mirror His Triune image! This ONE is His Crown of all Creation: HIS OTHER. We cry out: “Bravo, Lord! Encore! Holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and has come! For this is LOVE creating LOVE!”
As this story is told, there is a profound emphasis on the dramatic imagery woven deep into the fabric of the Holy Bible by God’s own hand. The story of creation tells of some of the most exquisite writings found in the Old Testament and woven as a scarlet thread throughout the New. The Lord God’s formation of man and woman… who were made in His image, infused with His breath, and marked with His fingerprint …was and is the Crown of His Glory! The most powerful design of all of God’s miracles is illustrated in the strength of man and the beauty of woman created in His image together as one. And they were made complete.
This story unfolds to illuminate a holy dance of life between these two lovers that somehow attracts our eye and awakens the awareness of a familiar, yet vague unrest within the core depths of the human soul- exposing an emptiness that has not yet been completely filled. And it causes us, along with all of creation, to groan inwardly with birthing pains to be set free. This love story of man’s design mysteriously stirs up that deep (and sometimes painful) inner ache of unmet longing that has been intentionally placed there by the very hand of God… to let us know that we were indeed made for more. And this love story is a sharpened arrow that penetrates and pierces our emptiness. It comes from the ultimate of all love letters- His Living Word.
The original story of man’s creation is relevant for the living church today- because it is His passionate message of fiery love: Holy Spirit breathes into the spiritual core of the Church’s soul the breath of his life just as He did with Adam- so that she may live in the rhythm of holiness, communion, and fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. He sings over her this poetic song of love- inviting her to dance with Him in glory for an eternity at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb… if she simply asks Him. In this dramatic unveiling of partnered creation, perhaps Adam may have asked the Lord God, “Where is my She?” The Master’s hand then knowingly responds by sculpting a rib from Adam’s sleeping side into the masterpiece of His own counterpart- the woman named Eve. It was the miraculous birthing of human history! The Crown of His Glory hand in hand intimately communing in fellowship with Almighty God in the Garden of Eden- a place of supreme majesty, eternal bliss, and sheer paradise.
This narrative unfolds to describe the Lord God’s intended original design of husband and wife before the fall- united as one flesh- in purity, innocence, and ecstasy. They were totally uninhibited without sin. They were vibrantly alive without death. And they were completely naked without shame. The Lord God blesses their union of love with the words, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.” As God birthed humanity, man was now given a divine mandate to participate with Him as co-creator of life. Man would beget man after his own kind and in God’s image. Thus, the blessing to flourish would begin the cycle of procreative love between man and woman: the intimate union, the planting of the seed, the miracle of pregnancy, the birthing of new life, and the parenting process of investing the time in them to grow and mature in His strength and beauty. God’s original intention was that this created counterpart expressed as His love would then perpetually and eternally thrive in earth’s Garden to fellowship with Him- and in the splendor of His holiness, strength, beauty and freedom to fulfill the ultimate purpose of mankind: To reflect the image of His glory by housing His eternal life, radiant light, and pure love… in holy worship.
Tragically, all innocence and purity of this love was lost when evil’s serpent seduced the likeness of God into choosing disobedience. And instead of reflecting God’s glory… the bondage of sin, the power of death, and the throne of self all entered into the core nature of the human race to reflect darkness. Sadly, the shadow of shame was now birthed to man instead of the glory of new life. Indeed, Satan’s diabolical strategy dealt the mortal blow that would absolutely devastate the fellowship experience of man and woman’s communion of love with the Lord God in the Garden of Eden. Paradise was lost.
And then… and then, at the appointed time in all of eternity’s plan, the overshadowing Holy Presence of the Shekinah Glory came upon the WOMAN and LOVE was conceived again! He was born in human flesh to redeem His lost Crown: His OTHER! Through the passion of the cross, the Son of God has made a way back for mankind to again commune with Him. The intimate fellowship of God with mankind was bought back. And the new infant Church was freshly birthed with His Life. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ released the enemy’s grip on all those who say yes to the romance of the Holy Spirit through His Living Word so that they may intimately come to know Him. Those who respond to this wooing shape the fellowship of believers identified as the Body of Christ. There is no distinction between male and female. The invitation is for all! The Son’s prayer to the Father “that they may be one” was His intercession on behalf of the sanctified Church to grow together in heart-to-heart fellowship, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the bridal passion of His love- so that humanity may again shine with the glory of His presence.
It is now the Church that is blessed by God to participate with Him as co-creator in the spiritual birthing of new life. The mandate that was previously given to Adam and Eve to fill the earth is now given to the Church to fill Heaven’s glory with life eternal! This is her Great Commission: TO GO. She goes by abiding in the Great Commandment: TO LOVE. As she matures together TO BE together as one in unity with Him, the cherished lost souls that are missing from His bosom are then birthed into eternity’s love… born again to never die. Indeed, light has triumphed over darkness- and the entire power of the enemy’s diabolical strategy to overtake and seduce mankind into sin, death, self, and hell has been disarmed by the Cross of Christ. Evil was made a public spectacle of. Thus, the Father’s purpose for His Son’s Bride becomes fulfilled for the completion of this age.
The origin of Adam and Eve was the dawning of this heart-to-heart fellowship of life communion, called “Koinonia.” This defined is the spiritual heart union of Christ with the sanctified Church, as the second Adam sculpts her out of His side into His counterpart: the Bride. The image of this masculine and feminine heart woven and fused together as one paints the masterpiece portrait of authentic love in completion- for when two halves make a consummated whole… the miracle of new life is eternally created!
The physical union between married lovers is but only a mere metaphorical snapshot of the eternal spiritual union that will happen at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb between Christ and His radiant beloved bride, the sanctified church. Together, we will rule His Kingdom with Him as the Garden of Eden is restored! In this picture of heart-to-heart union, we are given a finite and minuscule glimpse of God’s holy presence of who He was, who he is, and who He is to come. Even His name “I AM” defines the love that was always with us from the beginning of time, the love that is always with us now, and the love that will always be.
The prayer then, is that by His grace- the profound mystery of our Lord would be revealed to us, birthed in us, and fulfilled through us according to His will, as the Apostle Paul compares the marital relationship of man and woman to Christ and the Church: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the Church, for we are members of His body. For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery- but I am talking about Christ and the Church.” (Eph. 5:25-32) For now, Creation’s Crown groans inwardly, for we are merely betrothed (or engaged) to Him. We do not, nor does He intend for us to experience the eternal bliss of heaven here on earth yet. Full consummation does not take place until the end of the age.
One blessing He does offer us now is a foretaste of glory divine: His body and blood in Holy Communion- meant to be offered as a covenant of His holy love. This is indeed the very heartbeat of God, for He is Love… timeless, unlimited, eternal, unconditional, everlasting, and unfailing. Another blessing is that the Son now calls us to come forth from His side- to be baptized anew in the holiness of His heart, to experience a lifestyle of communion with Him, and to reflect the radiance of His glory in a desperately lost and darkened world. The only requirement is that our repentant heart would be open to intimately knowing Him. Our Beloved is perpetually waiting for us with open arms of grace and mercy to respond with “Yes, Lord! Here we are together as one…. for WE are your She!” As we respond in humility to his invitation, we make His joy complete. For the joy set before Him- he endured the cross, scorned its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God in perpetual prayer. And who is that joy? It is us!
And so then, Love came for this one and only purpose: Love’s body was ravaged, beaten, and torn apart raw- just for us. Love’s blood was poured out upon the very earth that He created, turning the soil to a deep crimson muddy red... just for us. Love was spit upon, ridiculed, and nail-pierced- penetrating straight down into the core of His very bone... just for us. Love was crucified on a splintered cruel and brutal cross... just for us. Love died for our darkness... Love died for our sin... Love died for our selfishness... Love died for our adultery... Love died for our pain... Love died for our pride... Love died for His bride! You see, it was all for us!
We are His joy made pure by His love. We are His love bought back in His love! And we are His love made new through His love. It was Love that died so that the joy of His love could be resurrected to finally be His and His alone! It was Love that died so that the joy of His love could be set free! It was Love that died so that the joy of His love could be multiplied! The joy of His love is welcomed back to Eternity’s Garden to walk hand in hand with her Love- strength and beauty together as one with Him.
And now, as we wait for our Love to arrive, please know that there will be times in the dark. It is then that we must behold by faith the light in Love’s eyes to see how He sees us: Love longs to be at one with us in pure joy. Love yearns to be united with us in pure joy. Love aches to birth us anew in pure joy. Love wants to marry us forever in pure joy. Love calls us to go, to do, and to be His love in pure joy to this dark and dying world! Please know that Love had to experience the agony of hell’s death… for love to experience the ecstasy of heaven’s life. This is the resurrection of true Love. It is a holy dance of love and life with God!
Heavens Jubilee is one way to be in union with this Love. But the invitation is always open to come until he comes. And now, may Love’s Kingdom come… May Love’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! And may we, His Crown, His Other, His Joy, His Love… prophetically proclaim as one with You, Holy Spirit: “Bravo, Lord! Encore, Encore! FOR LOVE IS COMING AGAIN!”
The table is now set for the next course to feast on… the “Magnificat for the Beloved.” Do you long to behold how He sees you?