Hi Friends,
Waiting requires patience. We are certainly to wait for the Lord to help us with this earthly life…but Christians, we are ultimately waiting for so much more! Listen again to these great verses:
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Jas 5:7-8 ESV
Wait patiently for the coming of our Lord. We can look at this phrase in several different depths. As we celebrate Advent, we remember the first time Jesus came to this broken world. Christmas is a time to rejoice at the depth of God’s Love for us. That He would send His one and only Begotten Son into this fallen world to show us how much we mean to Him, should leave us speechless. We gaze upon the little Baby in the manger and wonder that God would condescend Himself to become a human. We are awestruck that Jesus would consent to go through all the human trials that we each must learn to endure. We are amazed that the Christ would allow Himself to become subject to mankind, His own creations, as He became dependent on His human parents for His livelihood. Yes, humans waited for the first coming of Jesus, and it was glorious.
Wait patiently for the coming of our Lord. While we are still here in this world, waiting for the Lord’s character to build within us, then displayed through us, is certainly another one of those levels. As we said last week, when we grow in Christ, we become more and more like Him. We “establish our hearts” as we grow, so that it is His Character we display instead of our old, selfish nature. Jesus comes once more into this broken world through us as we literally become His hands and feet. We become an open door through which others may know Jesus and sense His Love in real, practical ways. Our Lord’s coming is at hand every time we choose to follow Him and forsake ourselves when we love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. It is our growing obedience to God that becomes another type of the Lord’s coming that we can celebrate daily. Jesus still comes to humans the more we let Him rule over us, allowing His Love to shine through us.
Wait patiently for the coming of our Lord. If you are a born again Christian, then you know our true home is not this world. Paradise is waiting for us…as we wait for the final return of our Lord. Even as we celebrate Advent, please understand we are still in Advent. This time of year, we may focus on the first coming of Jesus as that Babe in the manger, and well we should. Christmas is not about all the presents…it is all about The Present. The Son of God left His Throne in Heaven so that He could become like us…so that we could become like Him. The greatest miracle, the most precious gift God could ever give humans is Himself. When Jesus came to this fallen, corrupt world, God offered us the one and only Solution to our greatest problem, our sinful nature. His first Advent points us to His final Advent. Jesus will come again, let us never question that fellow believers. But we should question what are we doing as we wait? Are we focusing our energy on spreading the news about His coming Kingdom or are we more concerned with building our own kingdom? Again I ask each of us, what are we doing as we wait patiently for the coming of our Lord?
Lord, I wait for You. It’s my heart’s desire to know God as deeply as I can, and to make Him known as widely as I can. I am astounded at His first coming. While I am here, I am working with Him so He may once again come through me. And I look forward to the day He returns for the final time and brings all His children Home. In the meantime, I am going to make my time mean something. How about you? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
May God bless and keep you, may His face smile upon you
and may He be gracious towards you and give you peace.
Have a very Blessed Christmas celebration!
<>< Peace, Diane
