Advent and Traveling

The story of the Nativity is a story of a family on the road. After the birth of Christ, angels kept their trip going by warning Joseph to flee to Egypt. The newborn Christ being shuttled out of the Promised Land and "back to Egypt" is quite a thing to consider. My 4-year-old daughter has already traveled more than Jesus Christ did in his entire lifetime, but he did make this one long trip away from home. He was born running. He was born on a journey. His three year ministry is a journey on foot through the Promised Land; it is a journey to Jerusalem and death on the cross. Advent is a journey from promise through perseverance to provision. The Christian life is a journey. We tend to want what we want now. Doesn't it say "ask and you shall receive?" Doesn't it say that anything we ask for in His Name we will receive? Yes and yes, but it doesn't say when. Traveling is a discipline. It demands two things: action and waiting.

1) Action. Christian life is a life on the move. It is not stationary. For Christians, settling down is heaven. Here we move. Here on earth we sojourners know that we aren't home yet. It's all Egypt. Action is about doing something today. What am I doing today? What steps am I taking toward Christ and Christlikeness and Christ's service today? This day is given to me so I can cover some ground for God. At the same time I'm ...

2) Waiting. Christian life is a waiting life. To talk about the promises of God is to acknowledge that we have not participated in all of them yet. A promise is a check. You have to cash it to get the money. Some of the best checks written to us by God through Christ can only be cashed upon death. So, if we are living, then we are, by God's design, waiting. Even the birth of Christ was only a respite from the journey.

PRAYER: Lord, give me the power to wait and the patience to act. I tend to complain about both the work You give me and the waiting You assign to me. Root out this complaining and replace it with gratitude and expectation. There is no greater honor or adventure than to live for You. All live and die, not all have a reason to live or a reason to die. Thank You, Lord, for traveling with me.

TOMORROW: Advent and Sales