Advent: Waiting, longing, expecting, preparing, hoping for Christ’s coming. Am I eager for Christ’s return? Yes, mostly. Am I expecting Him to return soon? Not necessarily.
If I’m totally honest, I’ll admit that there’s a part of me that really doesn’t want Jesus to return until after Lane and I get married. Selfish, I know. The sentiments surrounding my wedding and Christ’s return should be related, though. If Jesus came today, there would be the greatest wedding feast in history. Preparing for my own wedding might give me a good analogy for the sense of anticipation for Christ’s return, but how do I actually feel that same excitement for something that doesn’t have a countdown? How can I eagerly prepare for something that could come at any time? I couldn’t even start planning my wedding before picking a date!!
Sometimes I feel like my hands are tied with regards to preparing Christ’s Kingdom because there isn’t a date – no one will know the day or the hour. But for the original advent, that didn’t stop all the prophets from waiting eagerly for the Messiah! The story of Anna the prophetess is challenging and inspiring to me:
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Ahser. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour [when Jesus was brought to the temple] she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)
She lost her husband so early, yet rather than moping around, she devoted her time to worshiping God, waiting for the redemption, and encouraging others who were also waiting. It sounds horrific to me, losing a husband (or my fiancé). It’s like losing the sense of home in a person. I would feel homeless. Maybe that’s why Anna basically lived in the temple. Anna’s life and dedication reminds me of David’s psalm, probably written while Saul was chasing him around the wilderness. David probably also felt homeless, on top of his sense of loss after Saul took David’s wife from him.
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:4, 14)
David’s life was marked by periods of waiting. He had been anointed king, but his time of “waiting” was being chased around by the lunatic jealous king Saul. Yet in the midst of that turmoil, David the man of God was content to spend time in God’s presence. He couldn’t build the temple; Solomon had to do that. David didn’t see the Messiah, but God’s presence was enough for him.
God has given us many promises. For most of us, the fulfillment of the Kingdom, the end of the waiting, anticipation, and expectation, will not come till after we die. But it will come. And He has given us the Spirit!
What do we do in the meantime? Build the kingdom. Prepare the way for our God. Unlike all the prophets before Jesus’ coming, we now have the Holy Spirit living in us, the down payment of our salvation. In the Old Testament, people were waiting and hoping for salvation. The difference now is that Christ’s kingdom is already here and spreading. With the Spirit living in us, we don’t just have to wait – we can spread Christ’s kingdom in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As I work on a guest list for my own wedding, how many “guests” have I invited to the greatest Wedding Feast of all time? I’m convicted to say not nearly enough. There have been seeds planted, yes, but too many times I have held back. This Advent season, I want to be conscious of doors that the Holy Spirit is opening to invite people to His great wedding banquet!
