Introducing Faithful: A Couples Advent Devotional

As we enter the month of December, we are entering much more than the winter season or a liturgical juncture. We are entering a time of year that is at the very heart of the Christian faith, although one that has perhaps been dulled by centuries of trite legends and historical lore. We may even fall into the Christmas vortex ourselves sometimes and succumb to the fanfare that seems to loom at every turn. And you don’t have to be an elf-on-the-shelf-er to know that the “magic” can be downright exhilarating! 

But wait. There is something wrong with this picture – this scene dripping with sugar, evergreens, and festivities. Dear saints, why are we so easily pleased? C.S. Lewis rightly called us “half-hearted creatures” (reference The Weight of Glory). The truth is, this season has so much more to offer than what is so easily consumed, what we can see with the naked eye. What foolishness indeed to focus on the seen, when what is unseen is worth so much more (2 Corinthians 4:18). It is sacred. 

Advent literally means “arrival” or “coming.” Something, or Someone, is coming. And it’s the most seemingly lackluster, paradoxical coming there ever was. Here’s the unadulterated version: God became a helpless, naked baby, born to humiliated parents into a society that would eventually murder him. He arrived without pomp and circumstance, without presentation, without sparkle.  He was born in great humility, yet would be the Savior to all.  Sometimes the greatest promises come from the greatest ironies (Matt. 20:16, 2 Cor.  12:10, Matt. 5:5, Matt. 18:3).  In this story, we learn of God’s faithfulness to His people by the presentation of the perfect Lamb through human form.   

This year, this Advent season, we want to dive in with you. We want to experience this sacred season with fresh eyes and tender hearts. We want to see the faithfulness of God, and of His people, through the living and active Word. As we immerse ourselves in the Christmas story, watch the characters come alive – because this is, after all, a true story of real people who were instruments in the hands of a delightfully creative and faithful God. We want to taste just the tiniest bit of what the Israelites tasted when they heard of Jesus' birth after hundreds of years of silence from Yahweh. How dark that season of waiting must have been for them. Can you relate? 

The circumstances and timing of Jesus' birth was entirely unexpected. How many times had they thought, maybe this is the one?  Maybe we missed the Messiah?  Many may have given up hope completely – and how many of us would have done the same? But, when God became man – not giving up His divinity but taking on humanity in its fullness – it was exactly what the world needed, at a time when it was needed the most. This was no accident. It was the definition of providence. God’s faithfulness is revealed in His perfect timing and orchestration of Jesus’ birth.  His faithfulness is revealed to us, even now, as we experience the gift of His presence in this holiday season.  We mirror His faithfulness in our relationships with our spouses as we traverse the Christmas season together.  

Friends and fellow saints, there is too much at stake to ignore the sacred in this season. There is too little time to waste on lesser things and distractions. And if we’ve lost the taste for what is real, well, as John Piper said, it’s probably because we have “nibbled so long at the table of the world.” When we’re stuffed with the small, trivial, and temporary, what room is left for the truly glorious? This is not to say we cannot experience the Gospel through tradition or that jovial fellowship is not life-giving, but what if our focus has lost its perspective?  What would change in your home if the purpose of Advent, of the coming arrival, filled your festivities, conversations, and celebrations?

Our hope for you, and for this season, is that God would become central in our hearts, in our marriages, and in our homes. May you vigilantly keep the urgent from overshadowing the important. And may you stay your gaze on the sacred this season, on the Christ child who is at once your brother and your King.