Advent--Preparation

"A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
       'Prepare the way for the Lord,
       make straight paths for him.
     Every valley shall be filled in,
       every mountain and hill made low.
       The crooked roads shall become straight,
       the rough ways smooth.
     And all people will see God's salvation.' " (Luke 3: 4-6, TNIV)

Preparation

How do we prepare for the one who is coming? How do we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus?

Life is full of preparation. It seems like we spend a lot more time preparing than doing. We spend our childhood preparing for adulthood—what do you think we are doing in school? Twelve years, then four or more in college. Why?

Preparing to be an adult, a contributing member of society. For the first 20 years of life, we’re not really doing anything, just preparing for what comes next.

Many of us spend our early adult years preparing for marriage and parenthood. We’re out on our own, taking responsibility, learning how to be a grown up.

Once we have a job and a family, we spend time preparing for our kids’ future, and retirement--working, saving, investing, thinking about what we will do when we’re older.

In church we read, study, and serve, preparing to do what God wants us to do.

But none of that preparation compares to the preparation in which we now find ourselves. For now we are talking about preparing ourselves for the coming of Jesus.

It’s the time when we celebrate who God is in our lives, and what God has done; but even more, we look ahead at the celebration of what is to be as we follow him, both in this life, and the life to come.

True celebration doesn’t just happen. It takes preparation. Think of the joyful times in life, and the preparation involved there. The greatest day of my life was my wedding day. 

Jamie and I were engaged for eight months. There was a lot of work that went into planning the wedding. We didn’t want it to be perfect, but we did want it to be fun. We wanted it to be a celebration, and for everyone to enjoy themselves as much as we did!

So we planned and talked and dreamed. We went to other weddings and learned what we liked and what we didn’t.

From beginning to end, we planned for it to be a day of celebration. A lot of people told us it was the best wedding they been to. The ceremony was beautiful—we had music that was meaningful—Ash’s favorite song, Jamie’s mom played violin, her  sister Marty sang.

Ashley was a big part of the ceremony, as we made vows to her, and invited her to participate on the stage with us.

While we were taking pictures, our guests were already eating and laughing and listening to music. Once we joined the reception, there was dancing, great food, and wonderful cake. The whole day was a celebration! It was great, because we prepared for it.

I think the second greatest day of my life was the day Brady was born. I got Ashley at seven—she was already trained. I didn’t have to prepare to welcome her into this world. But with Brady, it was a brand new experience. I read books, watched videos, went to child-birth classes, talked to other dads…

When day came, I was as ready as can be. I’m emotional, and started crying about five minutes before he actually came out—and for a while after! What a celebration!

Both those events were great; and were made greater by the preparation that went into them!

In less than two weeks we celebrate the biggest event in history—the Incarnation. The event where God took human form, being born as a baby. We need to prepare to celebrate His coming.

   " And all people will see God's salvation. " (TNIV)

This is the goal of Jesus coming. Not to celebrate a holiday. Not to give and receive presents. Not to sing carols and eat great food.

Not to draw close to family and watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Not to decorate the tree and drink eggnog. These are all Christmas traditions; and they are wonderful.

But the goal is for all people to see God’s salvation!

When we prepare ourselves for the coming Jesus, we see Him more clearly, through all the distractions of modern Christmas. We celebrate Him, and not all the other stuff that Christmas has become about.

When we focus on Him and not all the cultural trappings of Christmas, we also help others see what Christmas is really about. While I love the joy of Christmas morning, I think I love this time of preparing, and looking, and expecting, almost as much.