What’s the longest time you have waited for something?
What were you waiting for?
When you were little, did you anticipate your birthday with great excitement?
Maybe when you were waiting to get your driver’s license? When you waited for the birth of your child, were you impatient and excited and scared all at the same time?
Patience, as defined is, “the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed.”
How do Americans rate on a “patience scale?” What about you?
Are you patient shopping in the grocery store? Are you patient waiting on a child to do some task? Are you patient when waiting for a health diagnosis? Are you patient waiting for a promise to come true?
Could you wait for 400 years for around 60 wonderful prophecies to come into being?
The Jewish people waited in many different ways for the Messiah. Two of the devout were Simeon and Anna who waited much of the time in the Temple for the Christ to be born.
Can you imagine? Day after day searching the crowd, the babies, with aging eyes and a heart of faith, to recognize and come into the presence of the Chosen One of God?
You can be sure they rejoiced when they saw Jesus as HE was brought to the temple when he was 8 days old to be circumcised. Anna told anyone around about Jesus, the Messiah, being born and in the temple. They both celebrated, were filled with joy, and couldn’t keep quiet as they celebrated!
I guess I was kinda shocked when I worked as a teacher in the upper grades and found out many of the kids saw Christmas as a time to buy alcohol, party, eat lots of good food, and get stuff. Nothing more . . .
How do you celebrate Christmas? Are you impatient to praise God for sending his Son to be born in the flesh, to live with us and teach us as HE healed and performed miracles, to die a horribly painful death on the cross to take on the sins of the world, to rise again, and to ascend to his Glory in Heaven? He came to SAVE us!
Now we wait for His return!!
We don’t know how long!
We don’t know when!
But we are to be busy spreading His Gospel to all the world before He returns, we are to teach all the things Jesus taught us to others, we are to be faithful and obedient and submit to Him in all things!
ACTIVE WAITING!
Are you teaching your children and teenagers the real reason for celebration of Christmas?
Are you modeling for them what is most important in life?
Do they know how to have a saving relationship with Christ?
John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,”
