The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you. ”Mary was greatly troubled

at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have

found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be

called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s

descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:28-33 NIV

December 1st marks the start of Advent this year. While most of the world looks forward to presents, Christmas

break, and maybe a meal with family, we, as Christians, are called to look for more. I can’t imagine Mary’s

thoughts when the angel approached her. This long-awaited Saviour is going to come, and He is going to be born

to me? Then, without missing a beat, she moves straight into obedience.

Advent is when we set aside the busyness of our lives and remember that God came down to Earth as a human,

or as we like to call it, “The Incarnation.” It’s one thing for us to wait a whole month to celebrate Christmas, but

the people of God had been waiting 400 years for a Saviour to come that first Christmas. That's a long time to

wait, and I’m sure many people doubted or forgot this promise, but not Mary. Mary remembered the promise,

and she remained obedient. As I mentioned, 400 years is a long time to wait, but so is 2000 years. We sometimes

forget that Jesus’ coming to earth isn’t the only thing we look forward to during Advent and Christmas. While we

remember the birth of Jesus, we also remember that He will return one day (Matthew 24:30-31).

Let’s remember this Christmas that Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, and He also promises to return and bring

us to Him. How can we orient our lives, make room for Jesus, and make our lives point toward Him? We need to

fill our lives with Jesus in preparation for His coming. Advent isn’t only about remembering the incarnation; it’s

not even only about remembering Jesus coming back; it involves us preparing for the coming of Jesus. To do that,

we need to see what God wants us to remove from our lives to make space for Him in this season.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for coming to Earth and revealing yourself to us as a human. We are grateful that you

will return and bring us into your presence. We humbly request that you reveal how we can be filled with your

presence this season. May we be ready and prepared for your return. In your precious and holy name, Amen.

-Austin Christianson

Shepherding and Worship Pastor