Is it Christmas yet?

Now that Thanksgiving is past, my children are daily asking me and my wife: “How many days until Christmas?” Waiting is hard! But, while Christmas is not yet here, Advent is upon us.

If you’ve ever been to a large rock concert or a symphony, you know that it’s en electric moment when the lights go down and the long awaited performance is about to begin. The crowd knows that momentarily, the stage will light up and the one they have longed to see will be before them.

Advent is like that. It’s about remembering that just as the light dawned upon God’s people in the first coming of Jesus (Matthew 4:12-16), that Christ will come again bearing his light which will then completely obliterate all darkness. In fact, on this side of the cross, we are assured that “the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” 1 John 2:8).

Let this be an encouragement to those for whom the holidays are not simply a time of celebration but one of sorrow as well. You are part of a long line of God’s people who not only look back on Christ’s first coming with gratitude, but toward his next coming, with hope. His light has not yet been fully unleashed upon the world, but it is already shining, and he will light your way home as you wait for him.

Maranantha!