The Best Waiting of All

So what are you waiting for?

I’m asking because I would guess that there is at least one thing—and maybe more—that you are waiting for right now—correct?

It sure seems like we humans spend a lot of our lives waiting. Here’s how the great Dr. Seuss put it in Oh, The Places You’ll Go!…

Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Studies show that the average person will spend 43 days of a lifetime waiting on hold for customer service, and we will also spend six months of our lives just waiting in line!

But when Christmas rolls around, I am reminded that not all waiting is bad. Of course, this time of year we anxiously anticipate the gifts, the food and the time off from school, but might I suggest you add one more item to the waiting list?

No, not Santa…but Jesus Christ!

But wait, you say. Didn’t He already come to earth, and like, that’s why we are celebrating Christmas in the first place?

And you would be spot-on. His first coming is called the First Advent. Advent means “the arrival of a notable person,” and there never has been or will be a more notable Person than Jesus. He is the basis for how we count the years on our calendars, and He is the reason for this entire season. Two thousand years ago, He arrived in a humble manger as a helpless baby, attended by impoverished teenage parents and essentially homeless shepherds.

He arrived to a nation who had been waiting for a promised Savior for thousands of years. They had been persecuted, enslaved and even murdered as a people anticipating their Messiah, and with the First Advent, the waiting was over.

But the story goes on, my friends. You see, now we who follow Jesus are waiting for the Second Advent. This most notable Person will arrive again!

Matthew 16:27:  For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

Mark 14:61-62:  Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Acts 1:11: “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Hebrews 9:28: So also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

Matthew 24:42: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.”

Much like Israel of old, we, as Christ followers, also are in a waiting place for the coming of Jesus Christ. And this time He will not arrive in the middle of nowhere with no widespread awareness. The Second Advent will be the appearance of the Risen Christ, accompanied by a host of angels, and the entire world will witness it!

Will you be ready? Will your friends be ready? What better time of year to tell others about Jesus the Messiah and why He is called the Savior of the World!!

So this Christmas as you remember the First Advent of Jesus Christ, rejoice in the fact that He paid the penalty for our sins and redeemed us from hell. And while you are in the “waiting place,” turn your thoughts to the Second Advent and tell your friends and family who don’t know Jesus personally about the real reason for this joy-filled Season.

Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action

This Christmas, take a look back at Jesus’ birth and rejoice! But also, take a look forward to His return, which should give us the greatest hope on earth and tell your friends about the real reason for the Season!

Accelerant: Fuel for THE Cause

Pray: Jesus, thank You for the First and Second Advent, which gives us forgiveness for the past and a hope for the future.

Read: Colossians 3:4: When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Get: Straight Outta Nazareth Tee Shirt. Inspired by the upcoming Live it Up Tour 2016 where D2S will be focusing on the life of teen Jesus, Dare 2 Share unleashes its first ShareWear t-shirt for 2016 early for the holiday season!