I promise that I didn’t do it on purpose. I was not snooping around, but one early December day many years ago, in a moment of mindless meddling around the house, I found it. My big Christmas gift that my parents tried to keep hidden until Christmas morning: a full-sized Voltron action figure, the envy of any elementary aged boy in the 1980s. However, as much as I pleaded and begged, they would not let me play with it until Christmas morning. The toy was agonizingly within my grasp, but I had to wait.
Waiting is something we are not good at. From fast food to microwavable meals and every time-shortening discovery in between, we are a people of instant gratification. The Bible, however, works on a different timeline, a timeline that runs directly counter to the idolatry of the immediacy we hold tightly to. We are called to be people that wait.
One can determine the worth of something by the length we are willing to wait for it. 45-minute line for Space Mountain? Not a problem. 45-minute line for McDonalds? Hard pass. This is why I think that celebrating Advent beyond Christmas is beneficial for Christians. Advent calls us to wait and, in waiting, reflect. The term Advent is derived from the Latin word meaning “about to happen.” It is the root of the modern term “adventure.” Adventures always have an element of waiting tied to them, that what is being sought or pursued is not immediately available. Think of Indiana Jones and the ark.
In celebrating Advent, which moves our focus from one day to four weeks of contemplation, we connect with the Old Testament saints in their waiting for the promised Messiah, a promise that was a millennium in the making. Paul, writing to the Galatians, states that God, in the fullness of time, sent forth His Son to redeem those under the curse of the law. That fullness of time is a play on the natural pregnancy Paul refers to regarding Jesus being born of a woman. Babies are born when they are ready. In the same sense, Jesus was born when God was ready. If Christmas is a celebration of birth, by analogy, Advent is the celebration of the waiting of pregnancy.
But Israel did not wait nine months. God asked them to endure the waiting for a promise that started in the Garden when God said a seed would eventually end the curse of sin. A promise echoed by Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah. A promise held by a people in slavery and exile. A promise fulfilled by a tiny baby in a stable.
The toy I waited for was a mere plastic representation of a concept from a TV show, a thing to be played with and discarded after some time. The Messiah Israel waited for was nothing less than God Incarnate, come in the flesh. C.S. Lewis wrote, “Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.” The infinite contained in the finite; the Creator contained in a cradle.
The worth of something is directly related to our willingness to wait for it. Thus, this Christmas season, rather than letting Christmas Day come and go with presents and family, take the time to wait, purposefully and thankfully. In doing so, we connect with the Old Testament saints in their wait for a Messiah as well as all the New Testament saints in our current wait for Christ to come again, to bring forth His Kingdom in full glory.
God followed through on His promise in the form of a helpless Child; we can be sure that He will be faithful to His promise of Jesus coming again in the form of a conquering King.
Just you wait.
About the Author:
Dr. Mitch Evans has over 23 years of teaching experience in Kingdom Education schools. He currently serves as Senior Bible teacher at North Raleigh Christian Academy and is an instructor in Liberty University’s School of Education Doctoral Program. He holds a degree in Microbiology and Cell Science from The University of Florida and earned his Doctor of Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary where he studied the relationship between biblical worldview and Christian education. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Evans and his wife of almost 20 years, Dawn, are raising 3 children in Wake Forest, NC. He loves cheering for his Florida Gators, especially in the sports of baseball and football. He enjoys reading and is currently working through some of the great classics of literature and current works in Christian philosophy and worldview. In addition, he loves all things guitar related and the occasional game of golf. Good coffee will never be far away, as well.