Then Jesus Came #20

 

Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
    there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
    and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
    and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
    should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
    which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
    that shall not be destroyed.

Something we often never get to in our celebration of Advent is the Second Advent.  Like Communion, Advent is a time to look back AND to look forward.  When we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we both commemorate His death on the cross and do it until the Lord comes again.  The same is true of Advent: we look back to Christ's Incarnation, His coming to be among us, experience life without sin, die for our sins, rise again, and then return to the Father. But we also look forward to His return for His own, to establish His Eternal Kingdom in a much more visible, permanent, and glorious way.  When we do so, we experience the same blessings of His first coming: hope, peace, joy, and the assurance that God loves us.  Let us not just look warmly on His past coming, but also look forward to His coming again, just as He said.