advent seasons.
Not your typical Christmas story.
With the advent season upon us, not only Christians but much of the Western world enters a mode of festivities. Eggnog is consumed, mistletoe is hung, stockings are stuffed, gifts are wrapped, trees are put up, lights are strewn all around, and in general, the air is friendlier. Strangers talk to one another and even say, “Merry Christmas”. Yes, with the advent season upon us, America becomes a nice place again. In fact, I think it’s the only time of the year where I feel truly blessed being here since everything is just downright peachy.
As celebrations are underway, the spirits are high. The number of joyous occasions that occur in December are probably enough to carry us through the whole year. Sad, but probably true. Joy seems almost stupidly contagious. I’m not complaining, merely making an observation. I don’t even think I’m embellishing it that much.
The advent season is received with much joy. However, I do not believe the Second Advent will be met with the same amount of widespread joy. In fact, I think it’ll be quite the opposite. Joy will be displaced by panic, horror, terror, dread, and regret. Even for some Christians, they will share the same sentiment as unbelievers. Why? Because much of the Second Advent is unknown. Since the day and time are unknown, Christians typically treat this moment as all too vague, symbolic, and apocalyptic in nature. Who wants to talk about Armageddon over Christmas dinner?
The 1st advent of Christ was and still is an event of unprecedented significance. Christ took on flesh in the name of grace. He brought reconciliation and He also brought the sword. He planted His kingdom, He offered the only road to salvation, and He paid for it- all of it. Without Christ’s advent, without Christmas, we’d have no incarnate Christ, no earthly ministry, no salvation, and no hope. The thanksgiving we ought to have towards our Lord and Savior should never stop, nor should it only be commemorated on just a few Christian holidays. It is to be continual, as our act of worship and gratefulness, as recipients of His unmerited grace.
By the 1st we are saved, but because of the 2nd we have much to look forward to. More than our finite minds can possibly imagine. For when Christ returns for the 2nd time, it too will be hugely significant. Time itself will stop, it will cease to exist. It is when all who believe in Christ will enjoy a communion with Him like never before. We only know Him in faith now through His grace. We have the deposit of inheritance as His children. We have His Spirit residing within us. However, with the coming of the 2nd advent, God will come and dwell with His people. His presence will no longer feel distant or ephemeral, but will be of a quality that I cannot even rationally describe with words because it is beyond the power of words to convey, it is beyond what my mind can even comprehend. It will be the moment where Emmanuel, God with us, is portrayed in its ultimate, truest form. It is when the goal of Creation in Genesis 1 will find its ultimate consummation. This is the significant and hopeful future we have to look forward to with the 2nd advent.
Christmas is soon here. God is to be commemorated before, during, and after the holiday season. Christ is to be honored and glorified in the morning and in the evening. On Sunday until the next Sunday, and it won’t stop even after we leave this life. We are not practicing thankfulness out of religiosity so that we seem to be righteous. No, that’s just puffing up self-righteousness. Instead, we are thankfully worshipping God now, especially during this season, because it is practice for what we will be doing for the rest of eternity, before the fully consummated disclosed presence of God.
