Warning
Read Luke 1:1-25.
I've heard it said that only God can write history in advance. In the early chapters of Luke's "orderly account" (1:3) of the story of Jesus, we get two foretellings. The first is of the coming of John the Baptist and the second is of the arrival of Jesus. Certainly, God can do anything he wants, but sometimes I wonder if God isn't so much telling us history in advance as he is warning us what is to come so that we can get ready.
Sometimes we get so focused on the warning that we miss the point of it. Some folks get so focused on the predictions, whether of the first or of the second coming of the savior, that they miss the point. Several years ago, I was driving our youth van back from a weekend retreat. It was late Sunday afternoon. I was sleep deprived and tired. At least that's my story (and I am sticking to it!). We were going through a town and I saw what I thought was a stop sign. So I stopped, as any good driver would do. And suddenly, I heard one of the youth sitting behind me burst out laughing. When I looked, I realized I had actually stopped at the sign that tells you a stop sign is coming up. I was focused on the wrong thing. (Yes, I did then stop at the actual stop sign as well!)
We can get so focused on figuring out the details of the predictions, whether about John's arrival or Jesus' birth or Jesus' return, that we miss the point. God has warned us ahead of time so that we can be ready. That's what Advent is all about; it's a time of preparation. Advent says, "Get ready; he's almost here!" Far too often, we squander this time. We spend it preparing food and wrapping presents and doing the shopping and cleaning the house...but how much time do we spend getting our hearts and lives ready for the coming of the savior? These four weeks ought to be our response to God's warning. Jesus is coming—get ready! As the carol says, "Let every heart prepare him room!"
So, with a week to go until Christmas...what will you do to heed God's warning, to prepare room for Jesus? Spend some extra time in prayer this week. Read the Christmas story. Ponder what it means for him to have more "room" in your life. Worship. Sing. Read the prophets in the Old Testament and ponder how they looked forward to the savior's coming. If you were to become more like Jesus in 2018, what would that look like? How would your life need to change?
God's warning is this: he is coming. Get ready!
I've heard it said that only God can write history in advance. In the early chapters of Luke's "orderly account" (1:3) of the story of Jesus, we get two foretellings. The first is of the coming of John the Baptist and the second is of the arrival of Jesus. Certainly, God can do anything he wants, but sometimes I wonder if God isn't so much telling us history in advance as he is warning us what is to come so that we can get ready.
Sometimes we get so focused on the warning that we miss the point of it. Some folks get so focused on the predictions, whether of the first or of the second coming of the savior, that they miss the point. Several years ago, I was driving our youth van back from a weekend retreat. It was late Sunday afternoon. I was sleep deprived and tired. At least that's my story (and I am sticking to it!). We were going through a town and I saw what I thought was a stop sign. So I stopped, as any good driver would do. And suddenly, I heard one of the youth sitting behind me burst out laughing. When I looked, I realized I had actually stopped at the sign that tells you a stop sign is coming up. I was focused on the wrong thing. (Yes, I did then stop at the actual stop sign as well!)
We can get so focused on figuring out the details of the predictions, whether about John's arrival or Jesus' birth or Jesus' return, that we miss the point. God has warned us ahead of time so that we can be ready. That's what Advent is all about; it's a time of preparation. Advent says, "Get ready; he's almost here!" Far too often, we squander this time. We spend it preparing food and wrapping presents and doing the shopping and cleaning the house...but how much time do we spend getting our hearts and lives ready for the coming of the savior? These four weeks ought to be our response to God's warning. Jesus is coming—get ready! As the carol says, "Let every heart prepare him room!"
So, with a week to go until Christmas...what will you do to heed God's warning, to prepare room for Jesus? Spend some extra time in prayer this week. Read the Christmas story. Ponder what it means for him to have more "room" in your life. Worship. Sing. Read the prophets in the Old Testament and ponder how they looked forward to the savior's coming. If you were to become more like Jesus in 2018, what would that look like? How would your life need to change?
God's warning is this: he is coming. Get ready!
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