Last week we heard of God’s plan and desire to have a people of his own who will abide with him, and he with them. This all began in the Garden of Eden. However, sin, guilt and shame now interrupt this true abiding. Fear and death now loom over us and over all creation. What’s more, we hear with Cain that ‘sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.’

As Paul writes, ‘Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!’ There is hope! There is one who has ruled over sin, and in him, the promise of entering God’s rest still stands. True abiding can still be enjoyed. And in the restlessness of this age, we wait, in faith and hope, together with all creation, for ‘the freedom of the glory of the children of God’ who abide with him, and he with them.