While this was not my first Advent season as a Christian, this was the first Advent season I really invested in daily pursuing time to reflect on Christ’s coming at Christmas. For those who come from less liturgical backgrounds, Advent is a season of the church calendar, which is intended to remind us of the gospel of Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection throughout the entire year.
The Advent season places us in Mary’s last month of pregnancy leading to the birth of Christ, reminds us of the anticipation among the nation of Israel for their king to be born who will rescue them and builds into us the longing for light, joy, peace, and love that comes with Christ as the weeks build on.
This season, I was given Christmastide, a book of daily readings and prayers during the Advent season with specific scripture passages throughout the day and a common prayer throughout the week to engage my mind daily in what we celebrated each Sunday.
Last Sunday, JR (our Lead Pastor) used a phrase that really captures the Advent season and what God has been using this season to stir up in me. The phrase…
He’s Come. Now Live for His Coming.
For me, that captures the beauty of the Advent season for the Christ follower. Christ has already come. He has already died for your sin and my sin. He’s already rose from the grave. He’s already brought salvation to the many and He’s already started building His people into a church (that sometimes looks like Him and sometimes doesn’t).
But He’s coming again. An even better coming than the first time, since the 2nd Coming ends the pain, the suffering, the frustrations of this life, & wipes away the tears that come from these hurts we face. It all ends when Christ establishes His joyful, perfect, forever kingdom. But what about now? How do we live in the same anticipation of the first coming?
To borrow from JR one more time, since He’s coming again, we get to cultivate now what is coming then. If Christ’s 2nd Coming does all of the above and more, then we get to be a small part of seeing that Kingdom lived out now. That’s amazing and worth giving up your life, your time, your resources, and your emotions to see happen.
As Christ followers, we get to bring light of the truth of Christ to the dark areas of our lives and our neighbors, we get to bring peace to the hurting, to the angry, and to the strife amongst families, neighbors, and enemies. We get to bring the joy of a new life and second chance in Christ to those in despair and depression. We get to bring love to the unlovely, the outcast, the oppressed, and we get to bring Christ, the wonderful truth-teller, the comforting friend, the wonderful counselor, the atoning sacrifice, the King of Kings, the Savior to the world.
This Advent season creates in me a deep desire to the see the coming Kingdom of Christ and I love being in a community at Apostles Church that aims to establish the coming Kingdom living today.
He’s Come. Now Live for His Coming.
