Advent Devotional - December 1, 2014

“O come, O come, Emmanuel / And ransom captive Israel / That mourns in lonely exile here / Until the Son of God appear / Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel”

-O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Christmas is a time of great anticipation. Whether it’s children eagerly waiting for mom and dad to wake up on Christmas morning so they can open presents, or hungry adults licking their chops as Christmas dinner is set around the table, Christmas excites in us a sense of longing.

The Bible itself is replete with people who experienced this longing, this sense of anticipation as they looked forward to the coming Messiah. Adam and Eve eagerly awaited the one who would rid the earth of the curse by crushing the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). Abraham longed for the time when the nations would be blessed through his offspring (Genesis 12:2-3). David looked forward to when the perfect King would come to rule his kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-13). As the lines above show us, Israel yearned and groaned for the one who would not only ransom them from their captivity in exile, but who would ultimately ransom them from the tyranny of sin. In Christ’s birth, His first coming, we see in many ways the culmination of all this longing. The Son of God appeared, crushing the power of sin and Satan and showing Himself to be the perfect King who extends life to all nations.

But we don’t merely sing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as a historical reenactment looking forward to Christ’s first coming. No, we sing it today looking forward to Christ’s second coming in glory. We are, as Peter reminds us, still exiles (1 Peter 1:1, 17). We are still waiting for the day when Christ comes in power and forever does away with sin and death (Revelation 7:16-17). And so, this Advent season, more than we long for good food or the perfect gift, let us long for Christ. Let us sing with joy as we look forward with certain hope for Christ to come again and make all things new (Revelation 21:5).