Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Tuesday, 19 December 2023 10:41

The Promise
by Cody Anderson Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

We pause in our series of First John to focus on the Advent of Christ. Advent is a season of anticipation and preparation. It heralds a timeless promise that was centuries in the making and is eternally significant. It looks at the supernatural fulfillment of both ancient prophecies and a promise. This promise still resonates in the hearts of believers today, just as it did with the people of Israel thousands of years ago.
The Holy Scriptures recorded God’s promise of a coming Messiah. The promise was a cause for great hope in God’s people. This Redeemer would be a beacon of light amid darkness, a whispered assurance that God’s steadfast love and faithfulness would manifest in physical form. Isaiah’s words echoed through the corridors of time, giving assurance of divine intervention: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel,” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV).

The supernatural putting on the natural to redeem the condemned and to bring hope to the hopeless is just part of the coming of Christ. We would do well to meditate on these simple truths for days on end. In Luke 1, Mary, who was pregnant with the promised Messiah, visits her older relative, Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps. The presence of Jesus made John the Baptist joyous. John already knew hope was found in the Savior baby even before their births. God condescending to the lowly form of man to redeem and bring man into fellowship with God should bring us to awe.

The people of Israel longed for deliverance and held tightly to the prophecies for hope. Advent for them was centuries of waiting for the fulfillment of that promise. The promise of the Messiah was more than salvation from earthly struggles; it would be the dawn of a new era, a spiritual redemption. Now, fast forward to Bethlehem, where a star emerges in the sky, and the promise becomes an earthly reality. The covenant comes to life in the birth of Jesus Christ, Immanuel. In a manger, surrounded by lowly shepherds and animals, the promise takes its first breath and dwells with humanity. The baby has a fleshly body, but He embodies hope, grace, and salvation for all mankind.

Advent invites us to revisit this promise, not merely as a historical event, but as a living reality that affects us even today. It causes us to slow down in this crazy-busy season and contemplate the depth of God’s faithfulness. Take life’s uncertainties and remember unshakeable promises that hold even today. Remember the redemptive love that He showers over us. God’s unmovable faithfulness is the essence of what Christmas is built on. Advent invites you to search out the promises of God Almighty and know they are as good as done. It is still a time to anticipate the coming of the Messiah as the Israelites longed for centuries.

Advent doesn’t end on Christmas morning. It ends when the revelation of God’s ultimate promise, the promise fulfilled in Christ, our Immanuel, has made our dead souls alive. When the hopeless have joy, the condemned are redeemed, the lost are found, the blind see, and Immanuel indeed dwells in us, then we will truly know the promise of Christ coming as a baby to set the captive free.