Advent is here!
It’s a season of anticipation!
AD'VENT, n. [L. adventus, from advenio, of ad and venio, to come.
See Find.]
A
coming; appropriately the coming of our Savior…. It is intended as a season of devotion, with reference to
the coming of Christ in the flesh, and his second coming to judge the world.
ANTICIPA'TION, n.
1.
The act of taking up, placing, or considering something before the proper time,
in natural order; prevention.
2. Foretaste; previous view or impression of what is to
happen afterward; as, the anticipation
of the joys of heaven.
Christ the babe is coming!
Imagine
the anticipation of the baby, Jesus! Mary and Joseph were traveling to
Bethlehem for the register decreed by Cesaer Augustus.
Mary
was great with child traveling on the back of a clunky donkey.
Joseph
was likely protective and aware of his bride’s condition and perhaps a bit
anxious about the difficulty of the trek.
The
world was waiting, the prophesies were ripe in anticipation for fulfillment,
and the heavenly angels were preparing their songs.
See,
the Messiah was prophesied for years and years by men commissioned of God,
prophets, to tell of the One who would Come. In fact, there are 191 mentions of
the coming of Christ in the Old Testament! Hundreds of years later Christ
fulfilled all of those 191 prophesies. The likelihood of Christ fulfilling even
just 8 of these prophesies is one in one-hundred-million-billion. The miracle
of the Christ Child is supernatural. The miracle of the Christ child is
intimate and personal.
As I go into this Christmas season, I
want to be in a place of devotion and loyal reflection about the meaning this little
newborn brings to my life.
I want to revel in the whimsy of the days, the joy of
remembering, and even the glee in anticipating the promises of Christ.
“[The Word Became Flesh] In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the
beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen
his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth.”
Isaiah 9:6
(NIV)
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and
the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called
Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
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