JOEL 2:28-29
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
TO PONDER:
One of the wonderful things about the Advent season is seeing the signs that Christmas is coming...the radio is starting to play Christmas Carols, the trees and decorations are up in the shops, lights are starting to go in homes at night, advent wreaths are being lit in Church!. It's starting to look a lot like Christmas! As a kid, one of the things we would always like to do, was to shake/feel look at the presents that were placed under the tree. To start to wonder what was inside, to wonder who it might be for. There was a building anticipation.
God leaves us in no doubt as to what his gift to us will be. He will pour out, abundantly give himself to the world. He will pour out his Spirit on all people. He will give access to himself to sons, daughters, young and old, men and women. Before this gift, only certain people were given the gift of the Spirit, special access to God himself, and they were to mediate his blessing to the people. God promises...it will come to pass....that access to him by everyone will be possible. At the right time, it came to pass that God sent his Son, born of a virgin in a feed trough, poured out generously, lavishly for all the world that first Christmas. At the appointed time, Jesus fulfilled the will of his Father, and humbled himself even to the point of death on the cross to say it is finished...all now have access to the holy God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. At just the right time, God poured out his Spirit like rain on all people of all nations at Pentecost, giving hope, new life, new beginnings, new dreams, It has come to pass. It has happened. It means all of God's promises to all the people of the world regardless of gender, age, status, will happen...at the right time...because his unwrapped gift of the baby in a manger....his unwrapped gift of the Spirit that he pours out like rain....his unwrapped gift of himself to each one of us has changed the landscape of this world forever. There is hope. There is an opportunity to dream...to vision...to imagine...to be creative in sharing the gift of God himself with all.
So as you start wrapping presents and putting them under the tree to surprise those that you love, maybe you could pray a prayer over each present...that as they unwrap and discover the gift that is hidden by the wrapping, that they would also discover the gift of love which is God himself, given for all.
PRAYER:
Lord God, thank you for telling us exactly what your gift to us will be....the gift of yourself. Help me to savour that gift, to use the access that I have to you in every moment, every difficulty or opportunity; to so live today in your presence that it is a sign of hope to the world, that your promises always come true. Amen.
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