I was asked to write a simple advent reflection for one of our Christmas services this year. In the midst of all the crazy of our lives, it was nice to stop and think on the wonder of the manger. May it encourage someone’s heart this Christmas Eve.
The years of silence and longing. Imagine how much their hearts longed to hear from God, to see the prophecies fulfilled. Where was the Rescuer? The Redeemer? Their Savior? One year of waiting had turned into hundreds of years of waiting. Restless with the unending silence.
Until…
A stirring from the general region of Bethlehem. A simple boy and a simple girl. Rumors that a baby had been born. Could he be the One they had hoped for, after so many years of silence? And why would he appear in this obscure, common place? Born in a stable? A manger?
Surely the One to reign would come with more than a hillside announcement to shepherds in a field.
Today, we look back with eyes that can see the wonder of it all. The perfect fulfillment of all prophecy. The Word, the One Who is before all things, the very One Who holds all things together, stepped out of heaven and took on human form. It’s almost too much for our finite minds to grasp. Oh, but we know that He was both fully God and fully man. Scriptures testify! The only One able to save His people from their sins—that tiny, perfect baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a dirty manger.
And, oh, we also know that the manger gave way to a cross, where He alone was worthy of standing in our place. Where he faced a criminal’s death, to set right, reconcile, pardon the sins of lost and dying world. None of it happened the way the people imagined, but He turned everything upside down. And today, we bank everything on the truths of scripture that declare His triumph at the cross. We know He is the One Who Reconciled. Redeemed. Rescued. Our Savior.
And today we wait, yet again. Years of longing. All of creation restless, groaning, awaiting restoration. He came the first time, just as He promised. He will come again, just as He’s promised. Advent turns our hearts to the manger, points our eyes to the cross, and stirs a deep longing within us to see Him once again.
It won’t be a tiny baby’s cry that pierces the silence. No, next time He will return in unimaginable splendor. With a shout. A war cry. A trumpet. There will be no questioning Who He is. The whole of creation will see Him and know in an instant—this is Jesus. The King of kings and Lord of lords. The Faithful and True. The Word of God. The Alpha and Omega. The Beginning and the End.
A Thousand Little Deaths 