Is. 2:1-5;
Rom. 13:11-14; Mt. 24:37-44
The Bible is full of stories of people having to wait on God, such as
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Daniel, and countless others.
God promised
to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. But when the promise
was first given (Genesis 12:1-3) Abraham and his wife Sarah did not have any children. God continued
to restate His promise to Abraham through the years (Genesis 13:6; 15:1-6; 17:6-8; 18:10).
Finally when
Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 years old God gave them their son Isaac.
Though it took years of patient waiting, they received the promise of God. St
Paul (Hebrews 6:15) says of Abraham, "And so, after he had patiently
endured, he obtained the promise."
Joseph's
brothers sold him as a slave (Genesis 37:27, 28). Though he did not understand
all that was happening, he trusted God to work out His plan in His time. Joseph
patiently worked faithfully in each situation he was in. He waited for God to
fulfill His promise that Joseph would be a leader of his people (Genesis
37:5-11). He had to be patient as he believed God, but probably wondered why he
was sitting in a prison cell.
God did lift
Joseph up to great power and responsibility. Not only was he a leader of his
people, but he ruled over the people of Egypt too. Patience was needed to allow
God to accomplish His purposes in the life of Joseph and his family.
By means of
the life of these great men God prepared his people to wait for the coming of
His Son. God always has good reasons for making us wait.
Waiting is a part of life and one of God's tools for developing people.
Waiting Reveals Our True Motives. Waiting has a way of bringing out
the best and worst in people. People who don't have good motives won't wait
long because they're not interested in the commitment it takes to see something
through. They're too interested in short-term gains or success. Most of us have
good intentions, but a lot of what we want to accomplish is an attempt to make
a name for ourselves or for our own egos.
Time tests our motives works
based on good intentions will survive and other will perish.
Waiting Builds Patience In Our Lives. Patience in waiting for small
things leads to having patience in the bigger things. If we can't wait for God
to do a small things, we certainly can't wait for something bigger. We tend to
think the bigger things in life are finances and possessions, while God thinks
differently. For him people is more important. We see that in the life of Mary.
She went all the way to meet Elizabeth and serve her. This is expected
from every follower of Jesus.
Waiting Transforms Our Character. Waiting has a way of
rubbing off the rough edges of our lives. Most of us know the story of
Moses delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians. It's a grand story of God
doing great miracles. Moses had to wait in the desert 40 years
before God came to him. God used this time of waiting to transform his
character. When he was a young man he was brash and impatient. In his
impetuousness he killed a man, hid the body and ran for his life and
ran away to the desert. He returned from there as a transformed man of
patience.
We are preparing ourselves for the coming of Christmas, the birthday anniversary of the Lord's coming into this world as God incarnate. The people of Israel expected something profound to happen when God came to the world. So they were not able to accept Son of God who was born in a manger, born to an ordinary man and woman. The season of advent is a warning for us not to wait for something profound to happen as did the people of Jesus times.
The message of Advent is: Live the life in full. Push the limits, get outside your comfort zone, and make your own path. Too many of us spend too much time inside, contemplating things that mean nothing, and complaining about it. It reminds us to leave all comfort and security behind to serve someone, to heal someone, to help someone, to teach someone and to care for someone. That is what Mary and Joseph did. So they were able to see the Son of God in that infant. That is what the shepherds did. So they were able to see the Son of God in that infant. That is what the Magi did so they were able to see the Son of God in that infant.
In this season of Advent let us follow the example of Mary and extend
our little support to our brothers so that when God comes to us we will be able
to recognize and accept him.
Satish