Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Recently Toni and I with an assist from Karson painted our bedroom. The preparation to paint took as long as the painting on that first day.
Karson and I first had to move some of our furniture out of the room. Then it was taking the electrical outlets, the cable outlet and the phone outlet out of the wall. This was followed by dusting and wiping down walls – oh my the dust! Then the vacuum got to see parts of our bedroom it had not been to in awhile. It was now time to commence taping – the two windows, the three doorways (bath, closet, hallway) and the baseboards. Was it time to paint? Not so fast, my friend. Preparations for what all were needed for this project still had to be done. Do we have the roller and the brushes and the newspapers and the cloths for spills and the bucket of water and the toolbox and the music? Oh, did someone get the paint? Don’t forget the most important part.
Don’t forget the most important part. Advent is a time of preparation. It is time to repent and meditate on the Word of God. Isaiah and John the Baptist and others share this message with us. Are you ready to paint/celebrate the Christ child? Painting, as most of you know cannot be done unless you prepare first. Advent prepares us for Christmas. But don’t forget the most important part.
Toni and I would have looked rather silly if after all this preparation we didn’t have the paint – the main thing for what we were doing. In the same way, if all of our preparations for Christmas are secular and not Christ-focused we lose the main thing. Prepare and worship the Christ child. Meet Him in the manger and understand that Jesus was born to save us from our sins. He comes to you in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and in His Word.
When painting you need to wait until the paint dries to see the end result of what was taking place. Looks good dear! Christmas affords us that opportunity. The Advent prep becomes the Christmas reality. Looks good Lord!
Come All Ye Faithful joyful and triumphant to worship your Lord and Savior.
In Christ,
Pastor