The Story of Advent
December 8th, 2022
In the church where I grew up, I don’t remember ever hearing the word Advent. When it became part of my vocabulary, I spent time helping write an Advent book. Now when I think of the baby Jesus, I want to know the rest of the story. The baby spoke no words, but the adult Jesus gave us a number of reasons why he came. One verse that comes to my mind is John 10:10b: “I have come in order that you might have life–life in all its fullness” (Today’s English Version).
E. Stanley Jones in his book Abundant Living said that “our age knows almost everything about life except how to live it.” Too many people never find that life because they are looking for it in all the wrong places.
How do we find life in all its fullness? First, the Christian life is God-oriented. The Westminster Catechism says man’s chief end is to glorify God. This is the motive behind all we do as Christians.
Next, God is the ultimate authority. Jesus prayed, “Not my will but Thine be done.” When we follow God’s will for our lives, full or abundant life is possible. The ideal for a Christian is Christlikeness. We don’t reach this ideal here on earth, but we work toward it. The full or abundant life is a life of love. “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Let us pray for God’s help to truly love as he loves.
- Lynda Pence