Virginia Smith, Director, Children�s Ministries Department, General Conference

Clip�clop�clip�clop went Small Donkey�s hoofs as he s-l-o-w-l-y climbed the last hill.

�Mary rode on Small Donkey�s back.

�Joseph walked by Small Donkey�s side.

�Mary and Joseph were very, very tired.

�Small Donkey was tired too.

�They had come a long, long way.

�From the top of the hill, O happy sight, they saw the lights of Bethlehem!�¹

This story is known and loved by the youngest children and pondered by the wisest adults. How can a simple narrative sustain the interest of such a broad spectrum of intellects? Because it has profound undercurrents of context and meaning that encompass the history of humankind and beyond. This simple story is a pivotal part of the gospel made visible.

�For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.� �And so it is written, �The first man Adam became a living being.� The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. . . . The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man� (1 Cor. 15:22, 45-49, NKJV).

I�m sure that each of us craves the reality of that promise in our lives, to bear the image of the heavenly Man. May the Lord guide our thoughts as we meditate on the Second Adam, viewing Him within the context of the great controversy.

What Jesus Gave Up in Order to Come to Earth, and What He Faced When He Came Here
From the center of power over the vast universe�from the majesty of the throne of God; from the worship of the holy angels and all the worlds unfallen; from the joyous attractions throughout the perfect realms of light�came the Highest of all, the Creator of the universe.

He came to the one blot of disharmony throughout the illimitable reaches of space. Christ came to this one tiny fallen leaf,² among the forest trees of unshaken leaves�worlds beyond number with no taint of death. What infinite greatness! What infinite humility!

Why He Accepted the Responsibility of Being Born Here as a Baby
This sacrifice took place because the most beautiful angel of all accused God of being unjust and arbitrary, a tyrant demanding what cannot be given and should not be required. His whisper campaign convinced one third of the angels, and it became imperative to cast them out of heaven. The perfect universe now had to weigh the evidence presented with the serious charges Satan brought against God. A cloud of suspicion and distrust threatened the peace and safety of all God�s dominions. Then word flashed through space that Adam and Eve, the newly created beings on Planet Earth, had sided with the rebellious one.³ Could Lucifer be correct in his allegations against God?

The Godhead was prepared with a defense. From eternity they had an astonishing plan ready to answer the charges against them and to save sinners. The Son of the Almighty would come personally to this patch of contaminated real estate and take on human nature as the weakest, most vulnerable human being�a baby.

This Baby came as the Second Adam, to triumph where the first Adam failed; to bring back into harmony what the first Adam had cast into dissonance. But what a contrast! The Second Adam was born into a very different world. Humanity bore the degradation of ages of transgression.⁴ The Second Adam grew up in an inconsequential village with a bad reputation. His companions were stepbrothers and stepsisters who delighted in making His life difficult. From His mother He inherited the infirmities and weaknesses of human nature,⁵ but not the propensity to sin.⁶ Even though she shared the prejudices and misunderstandings of her time in society and history, she taught Him a love for God�s Word and for nature that prepared Him well for the necessities of life in a sinful world. Joseph taught him a simple trade that brought him constantly into touch with sinners. No isolated tower, no private suite with CNN and room service in which to remain unsullied by the surrounding miasma of sin.

What His Coming Has to Do With You and Me
What difference does it make that Jesus came as the Second Adam? The harmony of the universe was at stake. God�s character was at stake. Your future and mine were at stake, even thousands of years before we were born.

Satan had used every effort to force a wedge between earth and heaven. �It was his purpose to wear out the forbearance of God, and to extinguish His love for man, so that He would abandon the world to satanic jurisdiction.�⁷ To almost all appearances he had succeeded. �Sin had become a science. . . . Rebellion had struck its roots deep into the heart, and the hostility of man was most violent against heaven. . . .

�With intense interest the unfallen worlds had watched to see Jehovah arise, and sweep away the inhabitants of the earth. And if God should do this, Satan was ready to carry out his plan for securing to himself the allegiance of heavenly beings. He had declared that the principles of God�s government make forgiveness impossible. Had the world been destroyed, he would have claimed that his accusations were proved true. He was ready to cast blame upon God, and to spread his rebellion to the worlds above. . . .

�Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity.�⁸

On a cosmic scale, God countered the plans of Satan with a brilliant stroke of His own. �The broken law of God demanded the life of sinners. In all the universe there was but One who could, in behalf of humanity, satisfy its claims.�⁹ And that One was willing to stand in the place of enemies. Instead of sweeping away the wicked inhabitants of the rebellious planet, God sent His Son.

God saw our need and our hopeless plight without Him, and He offers a solution to everyone who will accept. But just as His love would not allow a summary destruction of this wicked world without heroic efforts to redeem, so His love does not allow force to be used in the redemption process. Each person is granted the freedom to choose which side to believe and support.

Jesus� sacrificial incarnation as the Second Adam was far more than a legal fulfilling of the law. Its results are unending and include every aspect of our life. Paul summarized it well in Colossians 1:21-23.

How Jesus Intervenes and Grows in Our Lives, Re-forming Us Into His Image
As we continue in faith, rejoicing in the hope He has given us, God the Son continues His intervention in our lives, re-forming within us His image that was lost through sin.

Enoch is a prime example. He lived at a time when wickedness had close to a thousand years to develop in an individual life. Notwithstanding the corruption that was so great around him,¹⁰ the record says that he walked with God. �He educated his mind and heart to ever feel that he was in the presence of God, and when in perplexity his prayers would ascend to God to keep him.�¹¹

A few years ago Jessica, my granddaughter, was being a real pest. Finally her mother said, �Please be nice.� The childish reply was the essence of helpless sinfulness in the kingdom of Satan:

�But I want to be naughty!� she said, exhibiting the typical unregenerate human dependence on the feelings of the moment.

A few years went by, and Jessica was 5 years old. One morning she and I were in our library reading the Bible story of Jesus� birth. An opportune moment presented itself.

�Jessica,� I asked, �have you decided to accept Jesus as your very best friend?�

�Well, no.�

�Would you like to?�

�What does it mean?� she asked.

�It means you love Jesus. You want Him to be your best friend; and you want Him to save you from sin.�

�Yes, I�d like that.�

�OK, let�s pray and tell Him your decision.� We had a simple little repeat-after-me prayer.

�Jessica, do you know what is happening now?� I asked.

�What?�

�The angels are jumping and shouting for joy because they are so happy about the decision you have made. And they are bringing out the big book of life. One of them is writing your name, Jessica Carlyn Dill, in that special book.� Her smile was radiant to behold. Several times that day she caught my eye and shared again with me that smile.

The next morning Jessica wanted to have our private worship in the library early. She invited a friend, little sister Juliana. Jessica wanted the same story again about Jesus� birth. When we finished reading, she said to me, �Now ask Juliana.�

�Ask Juliana what?� I was a little confused.

�You know. Ask if she has decided for Jesus,� prompted Jessica.

�But Jessica, I think she is too little to decide.�

�Oh, no, she needs to decide now,� persisted Jessica.

�Juliana, do you want Jesus to be your very best friend?�

�Say yes,� instructed her big sister.

�Yeth,� she lisped.

�Now we have to say the prayer,� continued Jessica.

�You pray, and let Juliana repeat after you,� I suggested.

No sooner said than done. In half a minute Jesus had been informed that He had another best friend.

�Now Juliana,� said Jessica in her best teacher voice, �do you know what is happening in heaven right now?�

�No; what?� she asked with wide blue eyes.

Jessica could hardly wait to share. �The angels are jumping up and down and shouting because they are so happy that you are friends with Jesus. And then after they get a little tired of jumping, one of them will get out a big special book.� Jessica looked at the bookcase for an illustration and pulled out the prettiest big book she could see. �It is called the book of life. They�ll write your name in it really close to mine. Then it will be for sure that we are best friends with Jesus.�

At that point their attention turned to practicing the jumping up and down and shouting that is required of angels. But their experience shows us in microcosm what Jesus wants us to understand on a cosmic scale.

Once our choice is made, how logical, how inevitable it is that we would do our best to help others also see the reasonableness of getting on the winning side, taking advantage of all that God offers. In the process, we are fulfilling the gospel commission just by sharing the excitement and benefits we enjoy because Jesus was born in Bethlehem and took forever our human nature. This rewarding experience must go on and on in our lives, growing constantly deeper and wider.

�Whenever the people of God are growing in grace, they will be constantly obtaining a clearer understanding of His Word. They will discern new light and beauty in its sacred truths. This has been true in the history of the church in all ages, and thus it will continue to the end.�¹²

Salvation�s Choice
Both Adam and Jesus made their supreme decisions in a garden. One decided not to trust God�s Word. By choosing disobedience, Adam opened the floodgates of woe that engulfed the whole planet and endangered the universe. The Second Adam chose to trust God�s plan regardless of the consequences to Himself. By obedience Jesus opened the floodgates of salvation, ensuring that those who accept His sacrifice, continuing in faith and hope, will be reinstated in the position from which Adam fell in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus faced a great battle in a garden surrounded by gnarled olive trees and twice prayed, �O My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.� As the hours passed, Jesus suffered superhuman agony as the sins of the whole world were rolled upon Him.

And the third time �He prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground� (Luke 22:44). An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. �The conflict is ended; Jesus consents to honor His Father by doing His will and bearing His curse, the consequence of humanity�s transgression.�¹³

Adam fell so easily, while Jesus, the Second Adam, agonized beyond our capacity to comprehend. Yet Adam, in heaven, will again be welcomed into his beloved Garden of Eden.14 A new day is coming. When the tests and trials of this old world are over, who can predict what will take place in the garden during the ages to come? One thing is for sure: Jessica, and all of us other children, can eternally enjoy with Jesus the results of His unfathomable sacrifice on our behalf.

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¹ Etta B. Degering, �Baby Jesus,� My Bible Friends, book one.
² Ellen G. White, In Heavenly Places, p. 40.
³ ���, Christ Triumphant, p. 20.
⁴ ���, The Desire of Ages, p. 34.
⁵ The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 5, p. 1131.
⁶ Ibid., p. 1128.
⁷ White, The Desire of Ages, p. 35.
8Ibid., p. 37. (Italics supplied.)
⁹ ���, Christ Triumphant, p. 30.
¹⁰ Ibid., p. 42.
¹¹ Ibid., p. 43.
¹² ���, Counsels to Writers and Editors, pp. 38, 39.
¹³ ���, Christ Triumphant, p. 24.
¹⁴ ���, The Great Controversy, pp. 647, 648.