A PERSONAL
ADVENT
December, 2013
Golden angels, gifts under the tree and children’s nativity
pageants all shout that Christmas is the season in which we celebrate the
advent of Jesus Christ to this world.
This year, I would like to share about His advent into my own life.
At age four I am sitting beside Mother on the bed, looking at
the beautiful illustrations in the Bible Story Book and waiting with mounting
excitement for the climax of my favourite story: the moment when the little boy
Samuel hears his name called and thinks it is Eli the priest, whom he serves,
summoning him. (1 Samuel 3).
“Samuel! Samuel!”
The boy runs to Eli and says, “Here I am, you called me.”
But Eli has not called, and tells Samuel to go back to bed.
Again, the voice calls,
“Samuel! Samuel!”
“It is not Eli. And a
third time:
“Samuel! Samuel!”
This time, the old priest realizes that Samuel has heard the
voice of God, and directs him to answer,
“Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
When God calls the fourth time, Samuel answers and, though a
mere boy, receives a prophetic word about the house of Eli.
Like every child, I anticipate the highlight of the story,
knowing every familiar word before it is read.
I am not aware that hidden deep in my heart is a desire to hear God
speak personally to me and the question:
WOULD GOD
REALLY TALK TO ME?
I am eight years old, a quiet, creative child who likes
nothing better than to draw with coloured chalk on her blackboard, make things
out of paper and paste and play ‘house’ and ‘school.’ I have written my first poem – a gift for my
baby sister’s first birthday. I long for
music lessons, but we do not have a piano.
I want to marry and have children some day, and have pretty china in a
cabinet, just like my mother. I dream of
being a Kindergarten teacher when I grow up, and of doing something to help
people, such as joining the Peace Corps or being a missionary.
DOES GOD
CARE ABOUT OUR DREAMS?
I sit on the edge of my bed with both fists clenched and
tears streaming down my face. There are
two reasons for the tears: anguish from
the daily arguments, put-downs, misunderstanding, neglect and hurt stemming
from my father’s alcoholism, and eyestrain from trying to read the fine grey
print of the black, gilt-edged King James Bible, the only Bible in our
home. I am fifteen, and unable to take
any more. I try to get some comfort from
the Old Testament book I am reading, but I cannot understand one word of
it. I desperately want to hear from God,
but He is silent.
DOES GOD
CARE ABOUT OUR PAIN?
This is a happy evening for me. I am twenty, nearing the end of my second year
of university. I have been taking
Confirmation classes with the chaplain of the Anglican college I attend. Tonight I will join the church. For two years I have been actively seeking
answers about God. A study of C. S.
Lewis’ book Mere Christianity has
helped me understand such abstract concepts as eternity: my life as a time line
and eternity as the page around the line. From books lent to me by the
chaplain, I have learned the rudiments of Christian doctrine: the Trinity, God as three people yet one God;
and the Atonement, which I understand to be the reconciliation of God’s justice
and His mercy, necessitating the death of His Son Jesus on the cross for our
sins. I have been able to overcome such
intellectual barriers as the Virgin Birth and miracles by taking a step of
faith without understanding everything first.
I am happy to be joining the church. Yet many things worry me. I read the words of Jesus that “Anyone who is angry with his brother will
be subject to judgment”, and “Anyone
who says ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Hell” (Matthew 5:22
NIV) and “for many are called, but few
are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14 NIV). I
see that no one I know is measuring up to this high standard, and I wonder who
the few are who will make it to Heaven.
Will I be among them?
AM I GOOD ENOUGH FOR HEAVEN?
Now
twenty-six, I am working as a Current Account teller in a large downtown bank
in Hamilton, Ontario. My earlier
experience with God does not seem to be enough to help me. I am desperately seeking the meaning of life,
which seems as bleak and grey as the city skyscrapers. I am seeking God by every means
possible: listening to radio broadcasts,
attending pre-Easter services and taking out books from the religion section of
the library only to toss them aside and try again the next day.
I am sure it
is God who has placed two Christian believers on my path at this time: my friend Sue in the next teller’s cage, who
chatters about her faith, and Ralph, the new messenger, who exudes a peace I cannot
understand and certainly do not have myself, as pressures of my job and life
are mounting.
Once they
mention having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. From that day on, I yearn for such a
relationship. Is it really possible? One day, I cannot seem to wait another day to
get it, and telephone Ralph who comes in on his day off to share a tract with
me.
I learn that since God is holy and
man is sinful, the only way for us to go to Heaven is through God’s only Son,
Jesus Christ, Who willingly paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the
cross.
…Believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…(Acts 16:31 NIV).
I learn that I must ask forgiveness for my own wrongdoing and
receive Christ as my personal Saviour and Friend, and then I can know that I
will live eternally with God in Heaven.
…to all who received him, to those
who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…(John 1:12 NIV).
In John 5:24 Jesus says:
I tell
you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal
life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
I joyfully receive the Lord Jesus
Christ to reign in my heart forever and be my personal friend. He is my new reason for living. It is the happiest day of my life.
I have had this personal
relationship with Jesus for over forty-five years. Although I have been through many difficult
experiences, He has always been there with me.
In giving Him control of my life, an ordered plan has become
apparent. I have learned that salvation entails
so much more than merely escaping Hell:
in my ever-deepening relationship with Him ,I have learned that He
cherishes me, protects me, heals me, teaches me, forgives me over and over
again, and seeks a relationship with me
exclusive of others, much like a marriage partnership. Even when I let Him down, He keeps His covenant
with me.
Looking back at the scenes from my
life of which I have written here, I sense that God saw a little girl’s desire
to know Him. I have learned that prayer
is a two-way street and that, yes, we CAN hear His voice. Every childhood dream I have written about
here has been fulfilled. I have taught Kindergarten, studied music,
married, had children, done Christian voluntary service on two reserves, had my
writing published. God always picks
strategic times for everything: the
coveted violin lessons were an outlet during a time of healing of my
relationship with my father; the frilly
blue china came to me later in life during a period of depression and hardship to show that God
cares for ME, not only my service to
others. As I look back at the time when
I was fifteen and God seemed so silent in my pain, I see that He DID
answer. He removed me from the turbulent
home scene and placed me in an Anglican boarding school. Here I learned all the beautiful hymns of the
church, which comforted my hurting heart and drew me closer to Him. He took me one step at a time to a meaningful
relationship with Him. And later He
brought emotional healing and healing of family relationships. He is so gentle
and good.
I am writing this to you, dear
reader, because I care about you and because the Gospel message is so
important.
There are many religions, but only
Jesus Christ claims to be the Son of God
and the only door to Heaven.
Some may question the existence of
the God of the Bible, and to them I would say: use the scientific method and
pray, “God, if You exist, show me.” Read
the Bible. Many have read the New Testament
intending to disprove it, and have ended up believing. God will be right there helping.
Some may feel they are not good
enough for Heaven. They feel that God
could never forgive their secrets of the past or present. They are in good company. The Bible says that none of us is good
enough.
Isaiah64:6 says that…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…
If we have
to measure up to the standards of the Sermon on the Mount, with not only
perfect actions but perfect motivation, not one of us will make it. That is the whole point of the Gospel, and
the reason God sent His Son to willingly die on the cross. God accepts us the way we are. The only criterion is acceptance of His Son.
And some may feel that their church
membership, good deeds, nice personality, or favourable comparison to evildoers
entitles them to Heaven. Or they just
assume that God is a nice God Who will let nice people , or, perhaps, all
people into Heaven. Nowhere are
universalism or salvation by good works taught in the Bible.
John 6:28
asks, What must we do to do the works God
requires? In verse 29 Jesus answers, The work of God is to believe in the one
he has sent.
And this
does not merely refer to passive assent to church doctrine, because Jesus called
his disciples to leave everything to
follow Him.To believe is to trust, to lean one’s whole weight upon. Ask yourself:
Do I really KNOW Jesus Christ? Do I have an intimate relationship with Him
based on faith? Otherwise, He will say,
Depart
from Me; I never knew you.
Some may be quite content with their
lives the way they are. They may have a
good career, money, family and fulfillment, and prefer to keep control of their
own lives without answering to God. But
we cannot so much as take our next breath by ourselves.
Psalm 19:1-3
(NIV) states:
The
heavens declare the glory of God;
The
skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day
after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they
display knowledge,
There is no speech or
language
Where their voice is
not heard.
It is
obvious that there is a God Who has made an ordered universe and that we are
accountable to Him. He has found a way
to save the lost world He made and loves, and that way is through receiving His
Son. Because Jesus willingly laid down
His life in obedience, God has exalted Him to the highest place. One day we will stand before God whether we
like it or not and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
…that
at the name of Jesus
Every knee should bow
In heaven and on earth
and
Under the earth. and
every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is
Lord
To the glory of the
father.(Philippians
2:10, 11NIV)
Will it be joyfully,
as one who knows Him intimately? Or despairingly, as one condemned to a lost
eternity?
I pray that each of you will come to
know God and have assurance of Heaven through simply receiving His Son Jesus
into your life. Who wouldn’t want to serve a God who is great enough to create a
mountain yet intimate enough to know my need for blue(not green) china, and
your secret desires too?
I simply had a desire to share some
of my personal story with you at this Christmas season.
I hope that this Christmas you will not
only sing of the advent of the Christ-child long ago, but also allow His advent
into your own life.
