The Seasons of Advent
A Personal Contemplation
by
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A season of Anticipation
“What would you feel like if you knew that soon and very soon you would have the opportunity to accept an offering of a complete amnesty for all your mistakes and debts, even those inadvertent ones made out of ignorance? This would create an eagerly awaited point in time. It would offer an eagerly anticipated sense of an incredible release from all doubts and fears. This would be a jubilant event and is a fantastic opportunity for expressions of joy and freedom.”
A season of expectation: “We live with expectations every day and many times by the time we reach the conclusion; we find that many of our expectations came about in unexpected ways. For those of faith we have God given promises and many is the time that while we think we know how these things will come to be God continues to surprise us. Regularly we find our expectations of how confounded time and time again by God. Not only does He do things in His time, He does them in His own way, many times to ends we do not foresee.”
A wonderful season: “Advent is that wonderful anticipatory season where we look forward to celebrating the coming of Christ. Isn't it marvelous that God after so long deigned to again come in a form that we would be able to walk and talk with without special precautions. Consider the magnitude of the love that our God has shown for us that he sought us out where we were and is continuing to seek His children where ever that they have wandered. In this act He seeks only to persuade and not to coerce or force our return to the joy of his companionship.”
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About the Book
Hope: expressed as anticipation, expectation, preparation, and transformation.
Gladness: expressed as illumination, celebration, appreciation, and jubilation.
Promise: expressed in constancy, guidance, providence, and comfort.
Love: expressed in perseverance, faith, forgiveness, and truth.
Then it seemed natural to look at what had been told about the purpose of this greatest of gifts from God. I explored the wonder of Advent and the reasons for it. This exploration has deepened my amazement and understanding of God’s greatest of gifts; I hope it will for you too.
About the Author
I grew up in New Jersey. I attended college in upstate New York, receiving a baccalaureate in environmental studies. Afterwards, I joined the US Navy, serving fifteen years. Currently I live in to Ohio. I never conceived of becoming an author, but when I started this study I wrote things down to consolidate my thoughts. I shared some of my essays with others. They said they liked what I’d written—it made them think. This encouraged me to compile my essays into a single volume.
My journey of curiosity and study began over thirty years ago. While it might not be the usual route taken to faith, it prepared me to study and question. So when my curiosity and interest turned to Advent, it was a continuation on the path that God seems to have placed me on.
I looked at the meaning of the word “advent” and thought of what it is expressed. I found there were four words that epitomized the characteristics of Advent: hope, gladness, promise, and love. It struck me that two were our proper responses to two of God’s characteristics. The essays in each of these seasons are explorations of how each is expressed in our lives.