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Advent Devotional for Monday, December 21
• Psalm 80:1-7
At this time of year we are preparing ourselves for the birth of Christ into a broken and imperfect world. Not as a king or mighty warrior, but as an innocent child. This story leads us on a journey where people from all over the known world are being counted. This is no easy task, much less with Mary being pregnant and still not married to her fiancé. They find themselves unworthy and unable to stay in any suitable place, for the birth of their child is a very near thing. Yet, behold, there is a stable in which they can reside for the time. With this birth we find that the world will never be the same as it was before. Although coming into the world as an infant, Jesus is greeted by people ranging from shepherds to kings, each one traveling many miles just to see the child.
Fast-forward two millennia. We see that our world is once again not in a great place for peace or understanding. We find that people are fighting and moving all around the world to search for refuge and freedom. Meanwhile, back home, our televisions are filled with news of devastation and destruction, both on our home front and in foreign lands. Much like the writer of this passage, we find ourselves calling for help to God, who may seem to be angry at times. But, the good news is that we are sent a son who has come into this world to deliver us and bring us into a new life. Not as a powerful and mighty leader but through the act of teaching us to love and live as a united people. God has and continues to make us new again by continually showing us favor through Jesus Christ. Much like those from the text, we see people from all walks of life being called to seek out and meet a Lord who is waiting for them. With this reaching out we are given a chance to truly become new again.
Gracious God, as we await the birth of the Christ, we do so with the anxiousness about the world around us and the reality of our broken state. Let your face smile on us with favor so that the light of Christ may usher in a new life through Him, who reigns forever. Amen.
Treighton Haddon
MDiv Student from Brunswick, Georgia
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
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