The timing for this emphasis on Christ’s return couldn’t be better, in my opinion. When we sing, “Let every heart prepare him room,” we are not retroactively chastising the innkeepers of Bethlehem we are preaching to all of the souls within earshot to be ready to meet their Judge and Maker unafraid.

No, we are praying that Emmanuel would return and make right all that is wrong with the world.

When we sing, “O come, O come, Emmanuel,” we are not role-playing what the ancient Israelites must have prayed before the coming of the Messiah. The word “advent” means “coming.” During Advent, we not only remember that Jesus came to earth as a man we prepare our hearts for his second coming. Waiting for MoreĪdvent is about more than waiting for Christmas. Using examples from the Bible, this book teaches us to understand God’s purpose in our waiting for a spouse, a child, a home, or healing, and to long for when Christ’s return ends all waiting. But in the real world, Christmas comes and goes without fulfilling the longings of your heart. The lonely are set in families and the long lost make it home. He didn’t, but I can’t help hoping that by this time next year, we will be a family of three.Īll the feel-good Christmas movies enhance the hope of a happy reconciliation in time for Christmas. I spent last Christmas wondering if this would be the year God would give my husband and me a baby. Maybe you have family members who are estranged, and every year you hope that the next will bring them home. Maybe you’re single and you wonder each year whether perhaps next year will be the one you when you finally have someone to take as your date to the office party. This season of anticipation is one in which longings of the heart come sharply into focus. If your life’s plans aren’t coming to fruition, should you change course or hold out for your heart’s desire? Are your unfulfilled yearnings indicators of sinful discontentment or blessings God simply hasn’t yet fulfilled? Longing at Christmas Waiting brings questions without easy answers. The hardest thing about waiting is not knowing when it’s going to end, if it is going to end. We wait for children without knowing whether we will conceive. We wait for love and marriage without knowing if it will come. We know what’s coming at the end of our wait will be good, and we know exactly how many days we have left to wait for it.īut much of the waiting that occupies us is open ended. The waiting that comes with Advent is fun because it’s finite. Make your lists and check them twice as you look forward to giving, receiving, and feasting. Light a candle in the Advent wreath and know that you are one week closer to Christmas. Open a door on the Advent calendar and find a piece of chocolate. The season of Advent brings with it pleasing rituals of happy anticipation.

John piper advent