Expectation with a presence.
This weekend we begin the season of Advent, 4 weeks to Christmas but what is it all about?  An expectant mother during pregnancy feels the presence of the baby she is carrying in her womb. She is very aware of it, feels the movement and hears the heartbeat even though the child is not yet born. The period of gestation is not only eating well, rest, exercise, etc. ...  but also period of excitement and wonder as she awaits the coming to birth of the child she is nurturing in her womb. The period of Advent is also like that..... we become pregnant with the Word, becoming more aware of the presence of God in our lives, in the lives around us and in the world where we live. The first Advent heralded the coming of the Messiah and many missed Him because He did not meet their expectations. Since then we are living in the end times when we expect Him to come again, any time. Every Advent is therefore an opportunity to become more aware of His presence so that should He come today we will not be caught off-guard. Like the expectant mother prepares for the coming  to birth of her child, we need also to prepare for the return of the Lord, who is here yet to come again.
Christmas will remind us of the first coming and His coming again. It's a period of grace to wake up from sleep because our salvation is closer than we think. We cannot continue business as usual, ....Jesus, though here is coming in a special way to us at Christmas not in the  physical body but in a very real way. If we are not awake and open  to His coming this Christmas what will make us think that we will be prepared for His final coming? We need to be prepared in the same way for the son of Man is coming at a time you least expect (Mat 24:44). It's time to prepare diligently and open up to Jesus. It's time to meet Jesus as the Saviour now before we meet Him as the Judge.Our entire life is a period of Advent....going about our ordinary job but waiting in expectation with a presence. He who is here is coming again and we need to be busy with the preparation.
Take time each day this Advent  and enter the mystery of the Living Word, ..... Emmanuel...... God with us...............Maranatha...... Come Lord Jesus!