So THAT’S what Advent is supposed to feel like!
My inbox was jammed full Tuesday morning! After the wonderful early morning newsflash telling you all that Ellis and Rachel’s visa had been approved, your notes of praise, delight, relief…they all came flooding in. My poor email program must have had the digital equivalent of sore muscles after a hard workout! It was so fun for me to read your notes of celebration over the soon return of our dear White family.
Soon…but not quite yet. There are still documents to be returned, flights to be purchased, last minute matters to be dealt with. Soon…but not yet! We can hardly wait, right? We’re excited for their return. But wait we must…a while longer. Which will make their final “advent” all the sweeter.
As I said from the beginning of this adventure, either we believe that God is in control or not. And someday, we would look back and see why the Lord allowed something that seemed crazy to us. Well, we are already beginning to see parts of that answer. Pastor Ellis preached at his village church last Sunday and a young woman, visiting for the first time, gave her life to Christ. Was that worth the delay? All of us would say, Absolutely!
Here’s another benefit, I think: we are understanding better what Advent is supposed to feel like. Advent is a time of preparation, not just for celebrating the Christ who has come 2,000 years ago, but also for anticipating the Christ who will come again, as promised. When Jesus ascended back into heaven after his resurrection, the angels told the gawking onlookers that he would one day return to take us all home. So…we wait. Soon, perhaps. But not yet.
Our Christian lives are to be lived in that kind of good tension. Jesus is coming…that will be great. But he’s not yet here and we have more Kingdom work to do…which is also great!
Part of that work might be inviting someone to join you for one of our six Christmas Eve services. Please, won’t you do so! God is going to meet us in a powerful way; you don’t want them to miss out.
Soon…but not quite yet. That’s what Advent is about. Make a little more sense to you this season?
Merry Christmas. I look forward to seeing you this weekend.
Pastor Mark