“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.”
-—Galatians 4:4-5
We don’t want to miss him.
Advent should be like a funnel that focuses us in on the most important part of Christmas; renewing our relationship with our Lord and Saviour.
However, Advent competes with so much that demands our attention. There is tremendous busyness and stress. We spend record amounts of money. We attempt to host and attend so many things. The church can be the centre of this activity with extra practices and set-ups and additional services and programs. The scheduling of special times with family, friends and co-workers adds to the monstrous expectations all designed to be experienced in a few weeks of December.
It takes much care not to miss him.
We don’t want to miss him. Oh, we will have some special moments. A child’s delight,
a heart-pulling special on TV, a special warmth from familiar music and perhaps even a delightful amount of snowfall at just the right time. But often it all passes too quickly as we barely survive all the demands of the season and it is possible to absolutely miss him.
In an unlikely way and in an unlikely place, our God stepped into His creation and became one with His creatures. The God-Man was born. The timing was all His. The plan was His. The knowledge of God progressively revealed to His people suddenly became fully visible and knowable to all humankind. The future of God’s people was revealed as our adoption as sons and daughters of the High God was made possible.
We don’t want to miss him. It will take a plan. It will take intentionality. It will take concentrated effort. But it will be worth it. Let’s start with the beginning of Advent. A good question we might ask ourselves during some time of reflection (which we set aside and protect religiously each day) might be this: “What difference did it make to the world that Jesus was born on earth 2,000 years ago?” This question can be made more personal when asked this way: “What difference does it make to me that God became human in Jesus?”
The faith and the faithful will be renewed if we make sure we don’t miss him this Christmas season.
