Sunday Meditations: The Watching-and-Waiting Season

Starting today, and at least every other Sunday for awhile, I’m going to do something I haven’t really done on this blog: a feature. For lack of a better term, we’ll call this feature “Sunday Meditations”. This biweekly post (or weekly, if I can get some momentum) will be more devotional in nature–no rants, no theological arguments, just some thoughts and observations about God and the Christian life, and maybe a Scripture or two to ponder. If this goes over well, we’ll launch a podcast and start a major marketing campaign and conference tour be glad it’s helping someone.

THE WATCHING-AND-WAITING SEASON

These past few weeks leading up to Christmas are known on the church calendar as Advent. It is typically a time when we light a series of candles (some of us, anyhow) and anticipate the celebration of Christ’s birth.

At the community where I help out with worship, we launched the season of Advent with a special gathering utilizing music and the arts. At the beginning, we asked everyone to ponder two questions:

1. What would it be like for us if Jesus had not yet come? What if we were still waiting for Him?2. In what areas of your life are you still waiting for Him?

Advent is more than just the season of anticipating Christmas. It represents the extended time of waiting, of longing for the Messiah to come. And even though the Messiah Jesus has already come–and I don’t know if you’ve noticed this–our problems didn’t go away when He came. Even as we celebrate His birth, the effects of His coming are an ongoing process in each of our lives. Even though in the eyes of God it was finished before it started–from our perspective, we’re still walking through a timeline, and our redemption is working itself out over time. And there are areas in each of our lives where, quite honestly, we are still waiting for God to make an appearance.

It reminds me of the passage in Romans 8:19-23

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (NASB)

I find it very interesting that this is a New Testament passage, written after Messiah’s arrival. I believe in some respect the earth was groaning for the coming of Messiah prior to His arrival on earth 2000 years ago. But He will come yet again, and until that time the whole earth continues to groan. And even we ourselves are groaning–and the areas we feel that longing the most are the areas of our lives that remain broken, those areas where we still need the Messiah to come and make it right. I know this this true in my own life and soul.

And here’s the part that makes me scratch my head: the Bible says God is behind this somehow. In anticipation of the revelation of God, it says God has subjected the creation to futility (that includes us, as created beings). Before there is a revealing, there is a subjection to futility. Interesting.

I don’t pretend to know all that this means, but in some ways it explains why there are still areas of unfinished business, areas where I need Jesus to come, but I am still waiting. He has come, and not yet come. It is that futility season that comes before the revelation, and it is somehow part of the plan.

So in this Advent season, even while we prepare in hope and celebration, don’t be afraid to embrace the longing. Maybe we shouldn’t just get mad and frustrated at God for those things we need Him to do that He hasn’t done yet. Maybe we can trust Him with the season of futility, and embrace that longing. Because it is the part of our life that still waits for the Messiah to come. That is the heart of Advent.

He has come. And He will come again.

He will come. May the hope arise in our hearts.