December 2: A Christmas Longing
She [Anna] did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:37-38 (ESV)
It took years to name the feeling in me that begins after Thanksgiving, growing as Christmas approaches. Perhaps it was as a child over the excitement of Santa and bikes and dolls and family gatherings and the aroma of holiday food that it began. But it was when the meaning of Christmas deepened, that I was able to recognize that vague, interior ache as a longing—a longing for the second coming of our Savior, as we celebrate His humble birth. Those who waited for the expected Messiah to make His first appearance might have felt a similar longing.
Have you ever considered that we live in a rather amazing time—between the first and the second coming of Christ? The Word of God, revealed and inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit, tells us of the first coming of the Messiah. Now we live with the promised Comforter in us. So many waited for him in faith and never lived to see the long-awaited arrival of Jesus the Christ. We live knowing that He arrived, and will arrive again.
Lord, we wait, longingly, faithfully, for You to come again.
Come Lord Jesus.
Andrea Boldt
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