Awaiting our Glorious King!

As we have said before, Advent is not only a time to anticipate/remember the coming of the Christ-child, it is also a time to anticipate and prepare for the second coming of Christ. And this time He will return like the King they expected when He came as a baby! I don't know about you, but I want to be ready when He comes, and I can't wait for Him to make all things new! Today I will be blending my own thoughts with the online advent devotional, Following the Star ( www.followingthestar.org ).

Today's reading: Revelation 21:1-7

"Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God... Behold, I make all things new." -Rev 21:2-3, 5

What a day that will be! I can imagine that when Jesus came, people didn't fully realize that God had come to dwell with them in human form. But when He comes again, there will be no mistaking it! What a joy and delight it will be for God to dwell with us, and for us to truly be His people! He will make all things new!

There is a newness to love every time we experience it. No matter how long we live, love never grows old. So in Advent we experience love again as we anticipate the coming of the Christ-child. And we never tire of his coming. Feel the warmth of that love again, made new in Christ's advent, new in every experience of God's nearness.
May this be our advent prayer today as we await His glorious return!

Dear Savior haste; come, come to earth,

Dispel the night and show your face, and bid us hail the dawn of grace.

O come, divine Messiah! The world in silence waits the day

When hope shall sing its triumph, and sadness flee away.

Simon J. Pellegrin