On
December 14 last year, we came face to face with
death and sorrow in a way that threatened to make a
mockery of the joy that we sing about during the Advent
season. On that day, evil walked the hallways at Sandy
Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
On that day and for many days afterward, scoffers
and believers alike asked, "Where was God when this
happened?"
The great truth of Christmas is this: "He was right
there―and He's right here, right now!" The incarnation
of Jesus Christ is the ultimate expression of God's
engagement with our battered, broken, and rebellious
world. Rather than shun those who have turned their
backs on Him or remain indifferent to the plight of a
world that has no solution to the universal presence
of evil and unavoidable specter of death, God has
entered our mess and brought hope that can be found
nowhere else.
As Philip Yancey so eloquently noted, "God has chosen
to respond to our predicament not by waving a magic
wand to make evil disappear, but by joining us and
absorbing it in His very person."
He is right here, right now;―Immanuel, God with us!
Our prayer is that this Advent devotional will help you
see Him afresh, hear Him anew, and walk with Him
daily as you anticipate our grand celebration of the
day when "The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood" (John
1:14, The Message).
To Him be the glory,
Mark Young
