A World of Instant, A Culture of Hurry

As the song says, this really is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year."  With carols playing, lights twinkling, and the weather turning crisp, everyone is constantly busy.  It all points to a day still three weeks away - Christmas.  For an entire month, we wait for this day.  For the rest of the year, we look back with fondness on the last Christmas and look forward to the next.


As Christians, we celebrate the season of Advent, a month-long anticipation of Christmas Day.  It's a strange time for the culture we live in.  In this world of instant, with fast food and instant video streaming,  it's hard for us to slow down and wait for any amount of time - let alone an entire month.


The word "Advent" is Latin, meaning "arrival" or "coming."  Advent, typically the three to four weeks before Christmas Day, is a time of preparation before the celebration of Christ's coming.  With Advent, churches and families celebrate Christmas as an entire season, not just a day.  While it reminds us of Christ's first coming, Advent also points to the time of waiting for Christ's second coming.


Promises were given by God long ago.  The fulfillment of those prophecies came to pass, sometimes hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years after the prophecies were made.


More promises have been made - Christ will come again!  Just as certainly as God kept the promises of Christ's first coming, He will keep the promises of His second coming.

During Advent, we celebrate the Faithful God who always keeps His promises.


During Advent, we remember those who waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of those promises - and those who never saw the fulfillment, but trusted it would come just the same.


During Advent, we celebrate Immanuel, "God With Us," when God entered His creation as a baby.


During Advent, we realize - even in our culture of instant - that it was worth the wait.