ADVENT BEGINS WITH CANDLE OF HOPE

I love following the Christian seasonal calendar. It is a rhythm in my life that brings comfort. Now today is the first day of the Advent season and the beginning of the Liturgical year. We use in the church an Advent wreath in which each Sunday we light a candle that represents a virtue. This first week the candle that is lit is the candle of "Hope."

We "Hope" for the coming of the Messiah. We anticipate his coming into the world to be our Savior. So it is a time of year that we intentionally try to be still and ponder the coming of the Messiah. We thought he would come as a mighty warrior to overthrow the Roman occupation and bring back the days of King David.

But God had other plans for us that were so much bigger and better than our limited minds could fathom. He came as a warrior of "Hope" to overthrow our sinful nature and occupy our hearts. We also did not anticipate the Messiah would come as a baby in a low-income area of Israel. Come He did and come again He will.

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