John 1:9 (ESV) -- The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

As we enter this Advent season, we step into a period of waiting. We are celebrating the Incarnation of the Son of God into the world, counting down the days to Jesus’ birth. The word “advent ” means the arrival of something or someone. From Scripture’s first few chapters, and throughout its pages, we see this waiting for Israel’s Messiah, Savior of the world. 

All of creation, including mankind, shatters under the curse and stain of sin. We live in a world of darkness. We need forgiveness, restoration, and hope. God makes a promise, and reveals it through His Word, that salvation will come. 

For thousands of years, people awaited the coming of this Redeemer. This Christmas season is about remembering what God accomplished in the sending of His Son, our Lord, Jesus into the world. Over the next weeks, we are joining with saints of old in waiting for light to come. We look backward to see God’s promises, signs, and works that point to the Savior. We look at our present and at the ways our lives find peace and hope through Jesus’ constant nearness to us as Immanuel, God with us. And we long for His second coming. 

This Advent season is about waiting for the Light of the World to come. As John tells us in the opening lines of his Gospel (John 1:9), “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”

Reflection & Journal: 

- The Advent season is one that many look forward to the whole year. How does that waiting point us back to Israel’s wait for the Messiah?

- What are the traditions you celebrate during the Advent season that point to the coming of Christ? 

- How does Advent season point us forward to Christ’s return?