The New Eve - Lewis Robert [32]
You know how the story ends. To paraphrase Romans 5:15, through one man (Adam) the world cascaded into death, but through a second man (Jesus), the way of salvation and new life was opened to all. So while Adam failed his manhood test in the Garden of Eden, Jesus triumphed with His in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Not as I will, but as You will,” He cried (Matt. 26:39). Rejecting passivity, He selflessly loved his bride and bravely took a stand for His responsibilities even though it cost Him everything. He obeyed the Father's call because He trusted the Father's promise that the suffering of the cross was a necessary part of the journey to greater glory. “For the joy set before Him,” Jesus endured the cross, Hebrews 12:2 says. In the end Jesus' courageous leadership showed all men what the first man's didn't: God's will, however difficult it may appear or feel at any given moment, ultimately results in a richer, more abundant life and greater reward. This was the vision Jesus held on to in modeling a thoroughly masculine life.
So it was in bringing Adam and Jesus together that I discovered a vision of manhood worthy of any man's consideration. By noting the parallels between these two towering masculine figures, their points of departure, as well as the different responses each had to his specific manhood responsibilities, I pieced together a biblical definition of manhood that now gives vision and inspiration to thousands of men who have tested it against Scripture. Here it is:
A real man rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects God's greater reward.1
A Gender Vision of Womanhood
Several years after developing this biblical definition of authentic manhood, I was asked by the women's ministry coordinator at our church to develop a series of messages on biblical womanhood. Right away I wondered, Does Scripture provide for women a pattern for envisioning biblical womanhood like that of Adam and Jesus? Put another way, If Jesus is the second Adam, is there a second Eve? Almost as soon as I asked that question, I had my answer.
Mary.
This special woman presents herself in such a way as to be considered Eve's righteous twin. Any serious reader of Scripture can't help but notice this. The Bible is arranged in such a way as to actually invite this conclusion. Much as Eve is on center stage in the high drama opening the Old Testament, Mary stands in the spotlight in the powerful events opening the New Testament. In different ways both are clearly the feminine counterparts to the two Adams. Both women help unleash history-making social and spiritual influences and leave as their legacies one-of-a-kind marks on the human race. Eve's foolish choices are used to introduce sin and death into the world. Conversely, Mary's courageous choices play a central role in helping to bring forgiveness and life back to the world. Eve is the model of an outside-in lifestyle; Mary, the model of an inside-out lifestyle. Eve and Mary—Mary and Eve. So striking are the obvious parallels between these two women that early Christians in the first three hundred years after Christ actually considered Mary to be a “second Eve.”2
Unfortunately Mary rarely invites this healthy comparison today. Instead, for many Christians, she has become a controversial figure. Because she was the mother of God, opinions about her vary and often go to extremes. Some have held her in such high esteem as to actually worship her, while others react to this exaggerated adoration by retreating to the opposite error of ignoring her altogether. Some feel compelled to warn others that Mary is really nothing special. It's really a shame. As the famed New Testament scholar