The Incarnation:

The Advent of Hope

† In Jesus Name †

My friends: Come and Adore Him, for there, it is well with our Souls!

There is a change that occurs in the midst of Advent, a change that is as dramatic as any we can even realize. It is a change we do not see, unless we look very clearly, not at what changes, but at who is causing and creating the change.  We have to see His promises, promises acted out, not just in our life as it changes, but in the lives of those who have gone before.  We can see it in the lives of martyrs, those whose lives died, yet testified of the change.  We can see it as well in the lives of those who celebrated the change in the words of hymns, and songs of praise.

As we wander through this advent, towards the celebration of Christ, we aren’t going to look at much at the journey towards the stable, as what that journey resulted in, in the lives of men, and is resulting in, in our lives.  That is why we just sang, “It is well”, for that song shows the effect of Christ’s first advent, of His birth and life, lived out for us.

We see a like cry to “it is well”, in the words of Isaiah, words that bear a promise that is beyond our comprehension – how can a man run and not be weary, how can he endure a lifetime’s journey and not feel faint?  It is the secret behind Mr. Spafford’s hymn, the truth that enabled him to not only go on, but to rejoice.  It is the miracle of Advent, the miracle of the Incarnation, the miracle that brings hope, and the expectation of God fulfilling His promises.

When we come and look at God, we look at God, lying in that manger, we need to see more than an adorable baby – we need to see God in such a way we adore Him.  We need to realize that coming and adoring Him is what renews our strength, what causes us to rise up with wings like eagles, what enables us, without hesitation, to cry out, “IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL!”

The Incarnation is raw, it is harsh, and in it, we find the most incredible truth that changes our lives.  God comes to us when we are weak, when our burdens are overwhelming, when there is no room in the inn, when the stable and house and our lives are filthy, and changes it all.

It goes beyond words, but it is the truth we live in, now.  For we live after that blessed event.  We’ve seen the results of the cross and our baptism linking us to it, cleansing us, transforming us, giving us hope when the rest of the world would give up. That is the hope of Advent – that everything has changed…even as it will change again.

Mary’s child was born for that purpose, He came into the world for this reason, to cry out to us, to those who come to adore Him,  The baby is there so you can hear His plea..

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

My dearest friends, we need not wait for the second coming to come to Him, to adore Him, to obey His call, to be relieved of our burdens, to learn from Him, to find the rest our souls crave.

Advent is a different time for those in the faith, a time to remember, not to re-live the burdens, but to relive the release of those burdens.  This not the time to mourn, but the time to rejoice and to realize we’ve been brought into His presence, into His life. This is the time to pause and realize what we’ve been delivered from, so that we remember what we have been delivered into, the presence of God.

And to know we are safe here now, where it is well, for we are guarded the peace of God which passes all understanding, and guards us, our hearts and minds, located in the Incarnate Lord Jesus.  AMEN!