We have come to the end of this year’s advent. The halls have been decked, trees are up, cards sent, presents wrapped and the food is prepared. All that is left is to enjoy the day that the Lord has given.
Throughout this series we have looked at the part that people, such as Mary and John the Baptist, played in the coming of the promise. But now He has come. At Christmas, we remember the birth of Jesus the Messiah, the Child that would eventually bear the iniquity of the world.
Yet, Christ has come and died on the cross, so that all who believe can live guiltless and stand before God the Father blameless. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He talked with His disciples. In the Gospel of Luke, two of Jesus’s disciples are walking to Emmaus and Jesus gets talking with them, but the disciples are not aware that the person they are talking to is Jesus.
Later when the disciples get to where they are going, they invite Jesus to stay the night before He continues His journey. While they were eating, Jesus takes some bread and blesses it. The disciples then recognise Him and Jesus reminds them about why He had to die.
Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
Luke 24:44
Prior His to arrival, some of the disciples had gone back to their old lives before they met Jesus. They felt hopeless and disorientated without Him. But before Jesus ascended into heaven He encouraged all of His disciples, in what is sometimes known as the Great Commission.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20
He told them all to tell everyone about Him and believe God’s promises about the future especially about Jesus’ coming again. This word also applies to us. At times, it may feel like we are alone and without hope. However even though it may not seem like it God is with us wherever we are to comfort, guide and inspire. All we need to do is ask.
Festivities come and go. The tree has to come down eventually. Presents will soon be forgotten. Food lasts only for a moment. But God’s promises last forever. He has promised that He will return to take all that believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus to live with Him in eternity.
So as we come to the end of this series, let us remember that we are still waiting for Christ’s second coming. We are still in a period of waiting, an advent, for the promise. So as we celebrate what has been fulfilled, let us wait in hope of what is to come as we continue our wait in hope for the promise.
Esther A.
rooted-mag.com 