Christ - Our Advent

John 1:9, "There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man."

...Born to Raise the Sons of Earth
Born to Give Them Second Birth...

As we draw near the end of the Advent Season, I'm particularly mindful of why Jesus came. God truly loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. Born to fulfill the Law of Moses. Given to end the curse of Adam. Revealed to enlighten every man. It is in the coming of Jesus that we discover the truth about our Heavenly Father, as well as, the value of every human being. It is there within the stable that we see the new beginning of humanity. Jesus - who will save His people from their sins. Emmanuel - God with us. The Light that shines in the darkness. It is my prayer for each of us as we celebrate His coming that we do not miss out on the beauty of our own becoming in Him. Jesus Christ is our advent.

One cannot read the Scriptures without discovering that God was up to something. That there was coming a day when the Fall of Adam would no longer define humanity. When the Old Covenant would be done away with and a New Covenant would take its place. All throughout the Old Testament we read of a new day, a new beginning, and an event that would transform the way in which God and humanity would relate to one another. That day began in Jesus.

We read that in the fullness of time that God sent His Son into the world. Wrapped up in human flesh, this Son of God would walk in relationship with the Father. He would overcome the temptations of the enemy, fulfill all of the Law and the Prophets, give His life as a ransom for each and every one of us, die, resurrect, and ascend to the Father. Why? So that He would bring many sons into glory [see Hebrews 2]. Jesus, the Pioneer of faith, has gone behind the veil and bid us come. We can all enter boldly to the throne of grace. We each have access to the Heavenly Father. Adopted. Chosen. Loved. Jesus' coming calls us to become all that the Father intended. We are the ones that the Earth groans to see revealed. The descendants that would outnumber the stars of the sky and grains of sand promised to Abraham. The glory of God that would fill the Earth. Jesus is our advent. It is in His coming that we begin our own becoming. Where we understand our place in relationship to the Godhead. Where we are finally able to rest in the goodness and grace of the Almighty.

In Jesus we finally see what authentic faith is all about. We being to understand that all the Law and Prophets were actually put in place that we might love God and one another. That we would live with compassion for one another, show love, grant forgiveness, and be generous givers of mercy. That we would put away any and all things that keep us from being fully human (i.e. things that keep us from living as those created in the image and likeness of God). It is in Him that religion is exposed for what it is, and is replaced with a deeper awareness of God. Where we can finally lay down all of the things that keep us weary and burdened, finding true rest for our souls.

Celebrate His coming. By all means enjoy this season. But remember that He came for you, for us, that we would become what the Father envisioned in His heart all along.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:3-6

Merry Christmas!