The First Day of Advent

Advent means arrival. When we celebrate Advent we celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ into our world. It is not a one time event, but a continuing event. We continually need God in our lives. We need Him to make an entrance and change the core meaning of everything. I remember my first Christmas as a believer. I insisted on attending church, but had no idea how. A friend of mine was Catholic and agreed to take me to "The Midnight Mass." I remember being lost in the service and in the community within the church. I was 19 and had never attended a church service in my life. The elements of the service were entirely mysterious to me. It seemed like so little was connected to the little I knew about God and Jesus. It was a blur of standing, sitting, and waiting in a line to see the priest up front. I don't remember anyone singing or smiling. The service, which would certainly qualify as beautiful to me now, was simply alien. This, however, was somehow appropriate. Jesus was indeed an alien who had arrived in my life. He seemed to never stop doing strange things and making strange requests of me. (I later learned these were demands.) Some of this initial strangeness has never left me. Jesus never intends to visit with people, but to move in. In Luke 2:11 it says, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." He wasn't voted in. If people didn't think they needed a Savior, Jesus doesn't seem to have cared. He came to take over. He always does. To mention David is to bring up the idea of a king. This is what Jesus is. At advent we celebrate the arrival and Heaven-imposed reign of The King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

How is He a King to you today? Will you serve Him or someone else today?