ADVENT - “He Will Return”
Happy Friday, and welcome back to the final devotional of our Advent Meditation series. Over the course of the past four weeks, we’ve slowed down during the holiday season to reflect on Jesus Christ. Doing so was intentional because understanding Christ more clearly provides us with an enduring hope as we reside in the space between His arrival and eventual return. It enables us to celebrate both the baby in a manger, and the man who preached love and forgiveness who then ultimately lived it out by heading to the cross, the empty tomb, His defeat of death and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It also provides us with strength to abide in Christ’s love as we continue to walk in faith and obedience, bringing His Kingdom to earth in the places around us. Finally, it deepens our longings for His return when everything will be made right, and it is this final promise that concludes our time together this advent season. Before we begin, I want to provide space for you to reflect on the glimpses of God’s goodness, faithfulness, and presence during the holiday season and then pray, thanking God for these special moments.
On this side of eternity, we catch glimpses of God's goodness and His Kingdom - of the way things will look one day - a restored relationship, forgiveness extended, differences put aside, and people coming together. Yet, these peeks into a future restoration, redemption, and reconciliation are quickly interrupted by the ugliness of humanity and the world's brokenness. In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul speaks to the futility and creation's response being groaning and suffering - longing for a new beginning. Jesus speaks into this tension with one final promise in John 14:
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Jesus told us very clearly that there will be trouble in this world, but He follows these words with a call to hope. He will return one day to right every wrong, wipe away every tear, and usher in His Kingdom in full. We instinctively look for signs of hope amid the troubles of this world. Our hope rests in the reality that one day we will be free from what plagues us here and God's promise of redemption of everything broken. We look ahead to when all things will be made new, His promises fulfilled, and our longings satisfied.
But, until then, we wait. Faith saves us, and hope sustains us, providing the patience and perspective to see God's work in the world. No matter how hard today is, it pales compared to the glory to come. Hope always pushes us to believe that God's future is coming, even though we cannot see it. Faith enables us to see what our eyes cannot. The truth is that our full redemption is coming. Jesus will return one day, and no circumstance can stop it. Christ is with us, and the truth is He is enough. We cannot always see these two things, "but if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:25)
REFLECT
Before we wrap up our time together, we want to provide you some space to respond to what we read and maybe to what God is trying to say to you. First, take a moment to process this question…Where does your anxious longing need to transform into an eager hope?
Another question to consider is this…How can you meet the world’s futility you encounter with the hope you have in Christ?
PRAYER
Father God, thank You for the gift of Jesus - not only His arrival, but also the promise of His return and for providing a home for my heart and soul to find rest. As I prepare to celebrate Christmas, may I do so with an eager hope - one founded and fueled by Your love. Until Your Kingdom comes, may I be a visible example of Your beauty to the world around me. In Your name Jesus. Amen.