Praise be
to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the
God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort
those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2nd
Corinthians 1:3-4
This holiday Season of Advent & Christmas can be a time of particular emotional stress and difficulty. I endeavor each week to be sensitive to my readers, in being empathetic to their trials while offering the truth of sound Scriptural doctrine (Titus 2:1), offering God’s promises of comfort and hope to His people.
This being
the season of the year we remember the First Advent of Emmanuel in the flesh,
it can be a great encouragement to weary hearts. That the Father sent Him the
first time means there will be a Second Advent with a Redemptive Righteousness
and Rule for all Creation (Revelation 21:1).
If our hope lies in His resurrection from the dead, then the promise of
His Second Advent remains a true and blessed hope.
Celebration
of a certain day and month are not in question. Paul tells us not to judge one another
on our choice of festivities (Colossians 2:16). While there is nothing in
Scripture that instructs us to celebrate the birth of our Savior, there’s
nothing in Scripture that forbids it. What we do celebrate is that the Eternal
Godhead deemed an appropriate moment in history to veil His glory in human
flesh, to come and live with us and suffer in the reality of our misery. In doing so, proved
Himself victorious over Satan, death and despair.
He holds all
authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). That all includes
any conflict you may have going in your life right now or will in the future. In this life it's not a matter of if but when. Remember, He experienced the harshness of humanity firsthand, even to execution
on the cross (Philippians 2:8). He completely understands what we are going
through and He’s completely faithful to make all things new.
So, with these
words, ye, His people take comfort in His grace and hope and comfort one another with them. Celebrate that He
experienced the dust of the road, hunger and thirst, rejection, and pain and
death. But with it He held the power and authority to raise Himself from the
dead (John 2:19-21). He’s not just familiar with it, He willingly became part
of it and overcame it! His blessed Second Advent is at hand! That’s news that can make any heart merry.
Ken
