“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” Romans 8:18-19
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
Today, in this third week of Advent, we reflect on what it means to wait. For many of us, this season has involved a lot of waiting, hoping and expecting. We wait for when things will go back to the way they are supposed to be. We hope for a cure. We have expectations for a future beyond what we are currently enduring.
The Christian life is, and always was, centered on waiting, hoping, and expecting. Waiting for God to defeat, once and for all, sin and death and return things to the way they are supposed to be. Hoping for a cure for the world’s separation from God. Expecting that one day Jesus (Emmanuel, God with us) will come to usher in a future far beyond this present time, just as he did that first Christmas.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
1. Do I I live with an undercurrent of waiting for, hoping on, and expecting Jesus’ arrival?
2. What does it mean to be sorrowful yet always rejoicing, especially around Christmas?
Father, we come in awe of how you opened the heavens and came down, sending Jesus on our behalf, to take upon himself the dark shadows of death that we deserve. But now we find ourselves in the “already, but not yet”. Through the cross, we see evidence of your victory, but still we wait. We already have the promise of all things being made new, and all sad things coming undone, but we realize, sometimes painfully so, that we’re not there yet. In the midst of our waiting, help us to rejoice with hope and expectations. Increase our faith in your arrival.
Amen