 So it's here, have you noticed the cold weather, some snow, Christmas lights are up, things are getting busy. We're in the midst of Christmas Season! Some of us love it, some of us not so much.
As we enter the remaining portion of this Christmas Season, I want to encourage you to pause and intentionally move forward with your limited time, limited resources. As a church community, we are asking the people of RE.THINK to be Jesus centered, and others focused. To move forward intentionally, however, we should take a lesson from driving. Some of you are decent drivers; some struggle to drive at least the speed limit, I struggle to stay under the speed limit. No matter how fast or slow you drive, however, to make an informed, intentional decision moving forward you must at least glance into the rearview mirrors. As a driver, you can't fixate on the rearview mirror, or you'll crash and struggle to move forward. You also can't ignore the rearview mirror, or you'll hit something near you. To move forward as a family, individual or a group of friends this season let's look in the rearview mirrors of our lives and for some of us our faith. The season we are in is referred to as the Advent Season in the church world. Advent is a Latin word that reminds us of anticipation, a longing for an expected arrival. In the first century Roman-ruled country most Israelites were found not waiting, not anticipating. Since before the beginning of the history of the nation their prophets and been prophesying that the Messiah would arrive, the Messiah would save them from their sins, the Messiah would establish His kingdom on this earth. 1,000's of miles away a group of non-Israelite people saw the evidence of something unusual they had been anticipating the arrival of the Messiah for almost 600 years, they noticed the evidence of the event of the one born king of the Jews and moved. That's right they saw the proof of the thing they had hoped for, they had longed for and adjusted their schedules and calendars and moved. So how could the Israelites miss it? How could the magi from the east see it? I think the Israelites missed it because they spent generations anticipating, and waiting for the Messiah, and it seemed that God ran late. God didn't show up the manner they expected, or in the timeline, they hoped. I can't be the only person who has missed out on a meeting because I was running late. So late that other party left the designated place to meet. I think that's what happened with the Israelites. I think they assumed God was running late and they gave up. Yes, they still went through the religious motions and hoped for the Messiah's arrival. The Messiah didn't arrive in the manner they expected or in the timeline they hoped. God wasn't late. However, God was on His timeline. One of the earlier church leaders writing to a group of Christ followers reminds the Galatian church in Galatians 4:4 "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship." God arrived when He intended to. The 1st-century people just missed it. They look at their current realities of being ruled by a foreign empire, their lack of economic status. They kept looking at their existence, not realizing that God arrived to be with them. No matter what our current realities might be, God will show up when He intends to. Let's not be caught missing out because we didn't take time to see God show up. This season reminds us to anticipate the 2nd arrival of Jesus. Jesus arrived on this earth once. He told us that he would come again. Humanity has been in 2,000+ years of advent awaiting His second arrival. Photo by Gareth Harper on Unsplash
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