“So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. Thus it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living being’; the last man, Adam, became a life-giving sprit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-49

Good news! “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” Though we are born sin-prone we are also born with the image God created in Adam. Though Adam sinned which caused our sinful condition, we are able to be transformed into the image we were originally created to resemble through the life, death and resurrection of the man of heaven – Jesus Christ, the Messiah. On this first Sunday of Advent, the day of hope, we may be hopeful for the way is paved for us to return to the glory of God. Arise O sleeper, bear the image of Christ.