Another name for the Christmas season is the Advent Season. I really prefer that term because it doesn’t carry all of the baggage of the apostate Roman system. The term advent also causes us to more readily move away from the idea of Christ having His origin at the manger and understanding his eternal existence. Also using the term advent we may move easily to the subject of the Second Advent. In this transition we have the perspective of a great contrast.
Christ in His First Advent came in what may well be termed weakness and humility and that is the nature of His followers in this day. However, in Christ’s next advent He will come in glory and strength. What an incredible awakening this world will have when that long awaited Day of the Lord arrives. In His next coming Christ will come in judgment of the world. In His first coming He came to bring grace and opportunity for salvation, in His next coming He will bring judgment upon those who have failed to avail themselves of that wonderful, free grace.
Many have misunderstood His grace as a tolerance of sin and that is far from being accurate. He is not tolerant of sin but rather gracious and solicitous of the sinner willing only that the sinners repent and receive His grace. We today stand between these two advents, one marks opportunity and the other the end of that opportunity. I pray that the Second Advent will be a time of reward and joy for you and not a time of judgment, you hold the key to that day in the womb of your will.
