Advent

For the first time in my life I am intent on observing Advent.  I wish I had done this many years ago!  I have a daughter-in-law who, with her children, is very purposeful in her enjoyment of these days leading up to Christmas.  I find myself wishing I could go back and do the same with mine.  But I cannot - those days are past, and regretting what I didn't do accomplishes nothing.  Thankfully, I do have today... and tomorrow...  And I know that whatever work God does in me at this late stage of life  will not be lost on them, and for that I am grateful.

As I was looking for a little guidance on the i-net, I came across a Day 1 writing that was meaningful to me, but on December 2 when I went to read Day 2, I realized I had neglected to note where I had found the first one.  Google helped me find Day 1 again, but for the life of me, I cannot find anything more than that by the same author.  I don't even know who the author is, other than it seems to be someone from Illinois or Iowa State University.

So...  I have decided to venture out a bit on my own.  I'm intending to post my thoughts for future reference, but if the writing begins to overtake the real purpose of focusing on the Savior, I'll not continue in it.

The words of Day 1 come from someone else from ISU...

Week 1: Hope

Day 1: The Foundation

What is hope? We use the word all the time. I hope I don’t get sick. I hope my boss is nice to me. I hope my favorite sports team is good this year.

When we use “hope” this way, we really mean something more like wish – a desire for something we want to have happen regardless of feasibility. Biblical hope, on the other hand, is “the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future.” The word “guarantees” demonstrates the vast difference between the fleeting wishes of casual hope and strong promise of biblical hope.

Hope is a future-oriented term, but it is grounded in past events. In the Old Testament, the source of hope for God’s people was God’s proven character and His mighty deeds in history. The Psalmist says, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever, who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry” (Psalm 146:5-7). His hope is founded in who God is and what He has done.

When God called Moses to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt, Moses had a list of excuses and doubts. God responded not by building up the person of Moses or even directly answering Moses’ doubts; rather, God redirected Moses’ hope to Himself. He appeals to the foundation of His promise and His ability to perform great deeds on earth (Exodus 6:1-8). After Moses, the Exodus event formed the basis of hope for the people of God. They told the story over and over again. This is why their concept of Messiah was closely linked with terms like “Deliverer.”

Throughout the Bible, true hope is not tested against our ability to hope, but rather against the foundation of God’s ability to deliver. It is a deep longing for God to show himself for who He is again. Jean-Paul Sartre, a famous philosopher and atheist, said a month before he died that he so strongly resisted feelings of despair that he would say to himself, “I know I shall die in hope.” Then in profound sadness, he would add, “But hope needs a foundation.” Without a foundation, we have only wishful thinking or personal ability.

Advent is a season of hope because we look back to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, for “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:11). We also look forward to the day when Jesus will return, and fulfill our deepest longing to see him face to face.  Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

Reflection & Prayer: Advent awakens us to this question: “What do I long for now?” If we are weak in hope, perhaps we have vested our hope in weak things: wealth, possessions, reputation, relationships. Perhaps these are the things we long for now. The more we walk around with that question and let it penetrate through the layers of distraction and self-protection, the more powerfully we will experience Advent. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24)