The Seasons of Advent

Advent: A Season of Wonder A season of anticipation: " What would you feel like if you knew that soon-very soon you would have the opportunity to accept an offering of complete amnesty for all your mistakes and debts, even those inadvertent ones made out of ignorance? This would create an eagerly awaited point in time. It would offer an eagerly anticipated sense of incredible release from all doubts and fears. This would be a jubilant event and a fantastic opportunity for expressions of joy and freedom." A season of expectation: "We live with expectations every day and many times, by the time we reach the conclusion, we find that many of our expectations came about in unexpected ways. For those of faith, we have God-given promises, and while we think we know how these things will come to be, God continues to suprise us. Regularly we find our expectations confounded time and time again by God. Not only does He do things in His time, He does them in His own way, many times to ends we do not foresee." A wonderful season: "Advent is that wonderful anticipatory season when we look forward to celebrating the coming of Christ. Isn't it marvelous that God, after so long, deigned to come again in a form that we would be able to walk and talk with without special precautions? Consider the magnitude of the love that our God has shown for us; he sought us out and is continuing to seek His children wherever they have wandered. In this act, he seeks only to persuade, not to coerce or force our return to the joy of his companionship."