Christmas is coming in the next couple of weeks. The year has gone by fast, and here we are in the first week of December. In the past, we have celebrated Advent in our posts, but this year I thought it would be great to look at the story of scripture in light of Advent.
God is the central character Bible. The story of scripture encompasses the creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. As we look at these instances in the story, we can also look at the different sections of Advent we celebrate, hope, love, joy, and peace.
Over the next couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, we will look at and the story of scripture and Advent.
Creation and hope
Before there was a world, there was the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. There was a beginning for the earth.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters..” (Genesis 1:1-2; NLT)
“In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone” (John 1:1-4; NLT)
“He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.” (Hebrews 1:10; NLT)
God made everything. It is His creation. Everything that He has created He declared that it was good.
“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them; male and female, he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27; NLT)
People are made in the image of God, which is why life is so important to God. He made us. As people, we are image bears of God. His love for us is great.
When we look at creation, we can see God’s love for us. God provided hope at the beginning before we know that we needed hope.
Look at I Peter 1:18-21,
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days, he has been revealed for your sake. Through Christ, you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.” (NLT)
We know that Jesus was there in the beginning. He was there when the foundations of the world were laid.
Jesus knew that He would have to die for us before the world was formed. Hope was there.
When we look toward Christmas, let us think about creation. Before creation, God gave us hope.
So as you march through the coming days and weeks to Christmas, we should celebrate the hope that Christ fulfilled those many years ago and was planned long before we know that we needed it.
“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.” (Psalms 19:1)
