Looking forward...

If Christmas Eve is anything for you like it is me, it's the naffest day of the Christmas Holidays. The day is spent cleaning, washing, mopping, and being sent to the shops to buy last-minute items with the rest of the forgetfuls.


But this year something struck me. Something that's plainly obvious, but has helped me find Christmas Eve less of a chore.

The whole of Advent comes to an end tonight, the wait will be over - the planning, the buying, it all comes to and end because the event we've been waiting for is here. For Christians, the event is Jesus' birthday... He's finally here!


It was as I was realising that the mopping, shopping and cleaning were all things we do as a prelude to welcoming a guest that I was reminded of this, and it made the chores more bearable. I was working (in a sense) for Jesus. Not that tomorrow is really any more special than any other day, but because working to make our house tidier for the day helped me become more aware of God's future plans for me.


Advent is a twofold thing. We remember Jesus' first coming, and we're reminded of the first wait for Jesus through the story told in the Bible. We also have the privilege to look forward to Jesus' second coming, and so our preparations in looking forward to Christmas Day help show us that we're looking forward to "the Day", when Jesus will come back and collect his people "and we will be with Him forever." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)


It's easy to spend Christmas just celebrating Jesus' first coming - we're challenged to live looking forward to this sort of second Christmas. This makes our Christmas activities all the more exciting; we can look forward as well as looking back.


I'll end it there, because there's still plenty to do. Happy Christmas!