At Home In Advent

The following words for reflection are taken and adapted from “At Home In Advent - A domestic journey from Advent to Epiphany” from Gordon Giles (BRF - Bible Reading Fellowship). The entire book is available from Eden.co.uk and would be recommended to get a fuller experience of this time of devotion and meditation.

The purpose of these devotional is to give you something of an everyday object or motion which can focus our thinking through Advent. There are 3 sections:

Travelling in Advent
At Home in Advent
The run up to Christmas

We have travelled home, we have made some preparations, and now we settle in for the last run up to Christmas.

Father Christmas: Have you been good?

Read: Matt 19:16 - 22

What are your thoughts on Father Christmas, St Nic, Santa Claus..? No matter what you think, at this time of year there is no escaping him. I know of one man who would refer to Santa as ‘the fat man in a red suit who encourages covetousness in children!’ hmmm, and a Merry Christmas to you too.

Yet look at the interaction we can subject children to! We shove children in the arms of a weird looking stranger who proceeds to ask them what they want. Is this just a ploy to get inside the heads of children to make sure their ‘lists’ will be fulfilled?? I say this in humour, but what comes next is more interesting. The deal is complete with Santa when he asks the question “Now you promise to be good won’t you children?”

When are children ever that good? Never. However, what is this GOOD we speak of…? Jesus lets us know that this level of good doesn’t exist! If we held to the Santa Deal every Christmas we would have some very sad children on Christmas Day.

Now apply that to our living with God… if we equate our levels of ‘good-ness’ with Him we all fall so short.

This is the Gospel. We always fail, but it’s not about getting what we deserve, but receiving the grace that God wants us to have through what Jesus has done.

Pray for all parents who have children that are that extra level of difficult.