Christ is coming; he will be here soon.
Advent is a wonderful season where we actively remember that Christ is coming, and he will be here soon. This truth has been on the lips and hearts of God’s people for thousands of years. With the exception of the few years of Jesus’ own earthly life, the faithful have always lived in the anticipation of Christ. The anticipation of Messiah’s first arrival stretches back to Garden of Eden, where God declared that one would come from the line of the woman to crush evil and redeem creation (Gen 3.15). After Jesus’ ascension, the church lived in constant anticipation of victorious return (1 Pet 4.7).
In Advent, we recall the prophetic hope that filled Israel before his first arrival: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Is 9.2). The coming of Christ signals the end of the long cold night. Advent means real and solid hope for people who groan under the weight of dominion of darkness. Christ entered our human mess one night in Bethlehem to end hopelessness by destroying the works of the devil, and delivering all those who were subject to lifelong slavery (1 John 3.8, Heb 2.14–15).
As we reflect on the anticipation of Christ’s first coming, we recognize that we too live in a day anticipating Christ’s arrival. Advent demands that we prepare the way for his second coming by proclaiming in our cities, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt 3.2). It also reminds us that we walk in the unshakable hope of the coming day when pain and sickness, hatred and injustice, sin and death, hell and the devil will be no more, and God will be all in all!
Hallelujah, Christ is coming; he will be here soon!
Click here for Advent resources from TUMI, and click here for our Advent Playlist on Spotify.