You won’t be surprised to discover that we spend a lot of our lives waiting for things. According to some research, we spend on average 20 minutes a day waiting for a bus or train, 32 minutes every time we visit the Dr, 13 hours a year on hold, and 38 hours a year stuck in traffic. So, what do we do while we’re waiting and in the end is the wait worth the time we’ve spent?
Advent is a season for waiting and for most of us the wait is for Christmas Day. For adults the days will pass too quickly with our endless to-do lists, while for children the days will drag. But when the big day finally comes will our hopes have been fulfilled or will be left with feelings of emptiness and disappointment?
For hundreds of years people waited for the first Christmas, the birth of a promised saviour, and they were not disappointed. Jesus came as God made flesh to dwell among us. The greatest gift ever given he alone brings the fulness of life we all long for. For Christians Advent is a season with a guaranteed outcome, the celebration of a perfect gift once given, and the anticipation of his soon return.
