We
are less than a week to Christmas day! This week the pink candle joins the two
purple candles. Why a new color? Why break the uniformity of the purple theme?
There is a good reason! The pink candle calls us to “rejoice” as we look
forward to celebrating both the first coming and as we look forward to the
second coming of Christ. You may recall the words from Handel’s “Messiah”, borrowing
from Scripture, they boom out, “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and
all flesh shall see Him.” Do you long for His appearing as those at His first
appearing and now as we await His second appearing? Surely, it will be a
mighty, awesome and terrifying day!
To
behold the Lord is our great goal of life. On this side of glory, glimpses of
this reality are evidences of what we term “awakenings” or “revivals”. To be
“awakened” means to be arrested and alerted to a deeper appreciation of the
truth, goodness and beauty of God. But the most attractive and endearing
realization is that this awakening is an encounter with infinite Love. So we
can say that at the birth of Christ, Mary and Joseph, lived in a home of
perpetual revival! God come to dwell with His people. If architecture is frozen
music, the baby Jesus was infinite love in solid form – God incarnate. He is
Immanuel, the eternal Son of God manifest in time and space and as we await
Christmas day we humble ourselves and also rejoice in the mighty mystery of God
and His plan of salvation.
As
you prepare for Christmas I would suggest that, just as the pink candle breaks
out from the norm, you ask the Lord to break in to your usual routine and
awaken you to a deeper experiential knowledge of His great love for you. All of
us are looking for love and God wants us to know how much we are loved by Him. Maybe,
like me, you might ask Him to ignite your soul with His love so that our
communities will be brightened and illuminated even more by Christ’s presence
in us in 2013.
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