Pastor’s Perspective on Advent
By Pastor David
It is hard to believe that we are already at that time of the year.
Thanksgiving is late this year. Advent follows on its heals, and then we are
thrust into the Christmas holidays. Maybe it has something to do with my age,
and the clock and calendar spinning more quickly.
Let’s pause for a moment and reflect on what Advent is all about.
“Advent is:
A time of waiting, watching, listening.
A time of remembering, anticipating.
A time of renewal and wonder.”
(Copied from an article on the internet by Ashley Danyew)
While the world rushes around getting ready for Christmas, and we do as
well; the season of Advent reminds us to stop and smell the roses.
We should set aside some time for reflection and solitude as we remember
exactly what God had planned to do by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus to
this earth—the Creator coming down in the midst of His creation.
God had a grand plan and purpose for all of creation, and for all of humanity.
We live in a world broken by sin, marred by mistakes, fraught with failure.
We who try to do our best and be what God intended us to be are not able to
rise above all of that, at least not on our own merit.
That’s why God sent Jesus. He came to restore and renew us, and free us
from the bondage of sin, so that we might have that relationship with our
Heavenly Father restored.
Ultimately, Jesus was born so that He might die. He died not because He was
guilty, but because we are guilty. He died to pay the price for our sin and rebellion against God, so that we might not be lost for eternity.
We cannot help but think of Holy Week and Easter, as we focus on Christmas,
because that was the pinnacle of what Jesus did for us, by His suffering, death,
and resurrection.
I encourage you during this Advent season to spend some of that quiet time
in God’s Word remembering what God did.
Read Matthew 1 & 2, and Luke 1 & 2, and even John 1 which is not a birth account, but takes us all the way back to creation to see Jesus’ larger place.
A blessed Advent to you!
