Advent

Advent is a time dedicated to remembering the arrival of Jesus in His birth and to looking forward to His future return. Advent is Christ-centered; He is the One who is arriving. What’s our role? We prepare. Look at how the arrival of Jesus impacted the lives of those around Him. It took multiple angelic visitations to get Joseph and Mary ready. Zacharias and Elizabeth, with limited knowledge, were preparing for Jesus by anticipating the birth of John the Baptist. When I proposed to my wife, I made preparations for months because I expected it to be a significant moment. When we were expecting our sons’ birth, we made appropriate preparations to welcome them into our home. We prepare because we expect. Our preparations reveal our expectations. Minimal preparations reveal low expectations. Sometimes our expectations are negative, and we prepare for the worst. You can tell what a person is anticipating by how they prepare. The lost art of preparation reveals our lack of expectation and anticipation for God’s Spirit to move among us and keeps us from experiencing the manifest presence of God in fresh, full ways. If we don’t expect God to do anything, we’ll prepare accordingly. Our role in Advent is to prepare our hearts to joyfully receive the arrival of Jesus. The busyness of the season can creep in and steal our joy, and the religious over-familiarity of Advent can dull our joy as well. Be purposeful, not passive, about preparing to respond to Jesus joyfully this Advent season. Raise your expectations for how you will encounter Him. We must prepare with joy.