Prepare the way! Preyare the way of the Lord! The voice cries out, "In the wilderness, prepare a way!" Throughout Advent, that theme resounds. God is coming. God's Servant is coming. God will come and render justice to the nations, and to all people, for their wrong. God is coming to make the wrongs right, and to turn injustice into justice. God is coming. Prepare the way!
God gave His people a lot in order to prepare them for when He would come crashing into this world. But for a moment, consider this. How many people were there, waiting to welcome Jesus, God's servant, at His birth? None. No one, it seemed, was ready. Okay, so you might say that the shepherds were there, but why did they make their way to the manger? Because God's messengers announced the birth and told them to go to Bethlehem to see Jesus. Without that, they would have contentedly watched their sheep that night, oblivious to the significance of that infant and His birth.
Wise men, or Magi, you say? They had to follow a star. Were they watching the skies because they thought God was about to send His servant, or did they happen to see something new in the heavens and go? Well, we aren't told the answer to that, but it would seem that the star had more to do with it than the infant Himself.
God's people in Israel? They sure didn't seem to see it coming. Shoot, the inhabitants of the town that had been spoken of as the birthplace of the King couldn't even find room for His pregnant mother and her fiance. Despite the sheer volume of warnings and preparations that God had given, they didn't seem to be ready.
Are you ready? Okay, now it's a bit of a different question. After all, Jesus' first coming has already taken place, and we see how those seemingly clear Scripture references look very clear in hindsight. But what about for His final coming, in power, with judgment in hand? Are you ready?
The good thing is, you can say yes to that, even if you may not be living every day as though it could be the day of Jesus' reappearance. Jesus has lived, died, and risen for you. Though you may not consciously be thinking about Jesus' reappearance every moment, by faith you are prepared. Yes, it's very likely that His second appearance will still catch us all off guard, just like His first. When we look back at what all He said about that time, we may wonder how we missed it. Regardless, you have the assurance that you are ready, because you believe that, what Jesus did, He did for you.
God gave His people a lot in order to prepare them for when He would come crashing into this world. But for a moment, consider this. How many people were there, waiting to welcome Jesus, God's servant, at His birth? None. No one, it seemed, was ready. Okay, so you might say that the shepherds were there, but why did they make their way to the manger? Because God's messengers announced the birth and told them to go to Bethlehem to see Jesus. Without that, they would have contentedly watched their sheep that night, oblivious to the significance of that infant and His birth.
Wise men, or Magi, you say? They had to follow a star. Were they watching the skies because they thought God was about to send His servant, or did they happen to see something new in the heavens and go? Well, we aren't told the answer to that, but it would seem that the star had more to do with it than the infant Himself.
God's people in Israel? They sure didn't seem to see it coming. Shoot, the inhabitants of the town that had been spoken of as the birthplace of the King couldn't even find room for His pregnant mother and her fiance. Despite the sheer volume of warnings and preparations that God had given, they didn't seem to be ready.
Are you ready? Okay, now it's a bit of a different question. After all, Jesus' first coming has already taken place, and we see how those seemingly clear Scripture references look very clear in hindsight. But what about for His final coming, in power, with judgment in hand? Are you ready?
The good thing is, you can say yes to that, even if you may not be living every day as though it could be the day of Jesus' reappearance. Jesus has lived, died, and risen for you. Though you may not consciously be thinking about Jesus' reappearance every moment, by faith you are prepared. Yes, it's very likely that His second appearance will still catch us all off guard, just like His first. When we look back at what all He said about that time, we may wonder how we missed it. Regardless, you have the assurance that you are ready, because you believe that, what Jesus did, He did for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment