He came! He comes! And he’s coming back again!
The season of Advent is here. If you’re like me, you may not be very familiar with that word - Advent. You might have a vague notion that it is connected to Christmas - that people eat chocolate out of cardboard calendars or light candles or something like that. But what does it really mean?
Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus, which means “arrival, appearance, ripening, or invasion”. In our context it refers to the incarnation of Christ. Our creator God came to earth and became a human. John captured this in his gospel when he wrote this about Jesus:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14 NIV]
So Advent is a time to remember that Jesus came. We remember his birth, his life, and ultimately his death on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. We remember that three days after he died, he rose again.
Advent is also a time for Christians to kindle their faith and hope in the return of Jesus. He’s coming back again - the second “arrival.” The Apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Thessalonians 4. He ends the passage by reminding us it is at this return of Christ that “we will be with the Lord forever.” And he asks us to “encourage one another with these words.”
We remember the first arrival of Jesus at his birth. We look forward to his second arrival when he returns for us. But did you know there is another arrival sandwiched in between? A university professor named Pfatteicher writes, "Since the time of Bernard of Clairvaux (d.1153), Christians have spoken of the three comings of Christ: in the flesh in Bethlehem, in our hearts daily, and in glory at the end of time" (emphasis mine).
It is this third arrival I encourage you to embrace today, this advent season, and every day of your life. Jesus came! Jesus will come back again! Very true. But equally true is this - today is the day that he wants to show up in your life. I encourage you not to put your head in the sand and wait for his return. Look up, look around, come toward him, and find his “appearance” in your life today.
“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Jesus