We are coming upon my favorite season of the year, the season of Advent.

Advent for the nation of Israel meant waiting for Messiah. The prophets spoke of the Day of the LORD, and they eagerly anticipated that day. Advent for God’s people now means eagerly awaiting His coming back. All of scripture is full of promises of His return, and promises of our future glory…promises about our home, our real home, the one our souls long for–though sometimes we think our souls are longing for presents, and parties, and days off of work…

Over the years, on each day of Advent, my husband and I would walk through Scripture passages about the incarnation, what it means for faith, what it accomplished on our behalf, and what it  teaches about redemption and hope. This year, with much less time on my hands to prepare our “advent wreath” (a wreath I made, and each year attach little scripture scrolls to) I find myself wondering how to celebrate.

To start, I am filling this first week with “O Come, O Come Emmanual.”  I am reminded of truths taught in Ephesians that Christ came to bring peace amongst people so that there would be one people of God. One people. A popular form of theology teaches that God has one plan for Israel and one plan for the Church. Silliness. God has one plan, period. He made the two people into one, and has for us One Hope. So we can sing loudly, asking Emmanual to come, knowing He is not the Messiah of only the Jews, but the Messiah of all types of people! This is good news. So we all, who eagerly await His return, know that He has one plan for the future, one hope for us all, one home that He will take us to.

I encourage you this Advent season to ponder that home, that hope, and whether it is not really that which will fulfill all your desires, rather than expensive Christmas gifts.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.  Isaiah 9:2

In Him (Christ) was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.  John 1:4, 5, 12, 13

…remember that you were at that time seperate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the diving wall…so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace…so then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household… Ephesians 2:12-19

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ… Philippians 3:20

so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.  Hebrews 9:28

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