Anyone who attends GracePoint Church already knows what Advent is and why it is important; but I wrote this blog from a different angle for those who may be curious as to what is Advent and why is it important in Christian circles?
Advent is a four-week special time of preparation of our hearts in observance of Christ’s birth. ‘Advent’ means ‘coming’ and is a meaningful time of reflection, special music, and gift-giving in celebration of Christ Jesus’ birth. He is God in the flesh; He is the visible form of the invisible God. (Colossians 1:15)
The long-awaited Messiah predicted in the Old Testament was born at night – the darkest part of the day. How fitting that Jesus, the Light of the world, would be born in the day’s darkest hour.
The prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 that says a virgin will give birth to God’s Son was fulfilled as recorded in Matthew 1:18. Isaiah 9:6 predicts a Child is born, a Son is given, and Luke 2:4-6 announces that Jesus is born of Mary. Micah 5:2 says the Savior will be born in Bethlehem and that prophecy was fulfilled according to Matthew 2:4-5.
Today, when a baby is born, we get a birth certificate stating the date, time, weight, and length of the baby. And in addition to the vitals, we have the foot prints. We do not have a birth certificate validating Jesus’ birth. However, we have something of greater proof – we have God’s Word!
We should not limit ourselves to thinking of the incarnation of Jesus’s birth to only one time a year, but we should allow ourselves to celebrate throughout the year, to rejoice in, and to meditate on the miracle that God the Son took on flesh and was born into the world He created.
Surely, that is an astounding reality to try to fathom and a declaration that God is not a casual observer of what is going on in the world! Not only is Jesus’ birth beyond human comprehension of how God brought this about, but it demonstrates how God orchestrates history to accomplish His purpose.
Consider a few details that had to be in place for the prophecies of the Old Testament to come to pass – Jesus had to be born of a virgin, He had to be born in Bethlehem, He is the Son of God (Matthew 3:17), and Jesus was born at a precise and appointed time in history (Galatians 4:4-5).
Skeptics may scoff, but their scoffing is in vain. Their theory says it is coincidence that the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus called for a census, that Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be counted, that Mary delivered a baby while in Bethlehem at that precise time, but their theory of coincidence is just that. Theory. However, there are too many witnesses to validate the birth of Jesus Christ that debunks the skeptic’s coincidence mentality.
If God can turn the heart of Caesar Augustus, the most powerful man in the world at that time, to do the very thing needed to accomplish His purpose, then certainly we can trust Him to accomplish His will in our own lives. So let us sing – Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns. Let all their songs employ while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy…Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.