My newly turned 13-year-old daughter recently admitted how good a treat tastes after she’s waited for it. The longer you wait, though difficult, it just tastes better because you appreciate it so much more. She still doesn’t like waiting, like all of us at times, and she would rather have the treat immediately. But she recognizes the gift of waiting.
Speaking of waiting, Christmas is coming!
It’s still November, and we’re looking forward to the season of Advent. However, even when we finally enter the first week of Advent, it’s not Christmas yet. Advent is built around waiting. While we wait, we prepare, we remember, we tell others, we sing, and we worship. We anticipate and plan for Christmas. Depending on our family traditions, we might be waiting for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Our plans might involve the arrival of family or traveling to Grandma and Grandpa’s home. We might sing some songs together or read the Christmas story around the dinner table. This year, we might be grieving the loss of a family member, rejoicing in the birth of a grandchild, or anticipating the excitement of a first Christmas as a married couple. Some of us might be spending the season alone, hanging on to the joy promised in Jesus. Others might be fighting off bad memories of past Christmases. Whatever our family traditions or personal situations, Advent is a season of waiting, wondering, and looking ahead for the hope promised in our Savior.
The Israelites waited for a Messiah for much longer than a few weeks. The promises they heard for centuries by the prophets described their coming Savior. Today, we know the Messiah is Jesus, and we are now waiting for his return. While our season of Advent remembers the birth of our Savior, the incarnation of God humbling himself in human form, the Advent season also reflects our waiting for his return. We prepare, remember, tell others, sing, and worship until his final and glorious return when we can say, “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev 21:3).
As we celebrate Advent this year, we may be looking forward to time with friends and family, giving and receiving gifts, and eating our favorite traditional meal. We can also remember those who are grieving, suffering, or don’t even know Jesus as their savior. We can remember that we get to love others and tell them of the hope we have, inviting them to wait with us for the Advent of Jesus to bring us to our eternal home, to live in the fullness of his Kingdom, without tears or pain. We will be his people, and he will be our God, our creator, our savior. No matter where we are personally, we can find hope in that promise―Jesus is coming!
It’s not easy to wait, especially when we are suffering. In today’s world of instant streaming entertainment, fast food, lightning-fast internet search results, and same-day shipping, we expect quick fixes to all our problems. But God is a patient God, and we can find hope as we wait, knowing that he is also a faithful God. We also know, however long we have to wait, God’s gift of life in his presence will be better than anything we can ever imagine!
As the angel promised Joseph, and is still true today, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Out of that great promise, let’s continue to make disciples as we raise our children, love our neighbors, worship as a church, and unleash new leaders for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. Christmas is coming!
Tim Mathiesen is the Director of Communications & Prayer for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren.