“Ready or not, here I come!”
How many of us used to say this when we played hide-and-seek as kids? How many of our children or grandchildren still say this? I know my boys do as they play in our yard, with two of them hiding behind bushes while the third one is “it.”
I like to imagine Jesus saying the same thing before that first Christmas so many years ago. The weary world had heard Isaiah’s call to preparation: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” They had heard John the Baptist say the same thing on the banks of the Jordan River. Then the Lord came in a way no one expected.
I love the way Sally Lloyd-Jones puts it in The Jesus Storybook Bible:
“God was coming to help his people, just as he promised in the beginning. But how would come? What would he do? What would he be like? The earth held its breath. As silent as snow falling, he came in. And when no one was looking, in the darkness, he came.”
Ready or not, the long-awaited Messiah was born. Jesus grew into a man who healed the sick, confronted the arrogant, and revealed the Kingdom. He went to the cross to atone for our sins. He rose from the grave to claim victory over death. And now he reigns in heaven and promises to come again to make all things new.
When you think about it, this teaches us a profound theological and spiritual truth regarding who’s really in charge. God doesn’t wait upon us in order to act; he invites us to wait upon him. God doesn’t look to us to set the world’s agenda; we look to him. I think about it in terms of family dinner at the Daniel household: Erin and I prepare food and set the table each night, and we invite our boys to come and enjoy it. In this, they learn how to be truly ready. It’s not about control. It’s about receptivity.
And this is a lesson we’ve been learning all year long, isn’t it? In this year of uncertainty, God has been teaching us a daily dependence on his grace. It’s a lesson that we especially need to remember during Advent. God invites us to be ready. Not in a frantic and fretful way, trying to earn his blessing or his salvation – that’s already been given! But in a curious, childlike way. Such readiness looks like worship and daily attentiveness to the Word of God through prayer and Scripture reading. It looks like service to our family members, friends, neighbors, and even our enemies. It looks like reflecting on the four themes of our Advent wreath – hope, peace, joy, and love – and making them a part of our daily lives.
Let’s live ready, not busy, friends – waiting in eager expectation for the Lord who is sure to surprise us.
Yours,
Blake