#HeavenTouchingEarth (Advent day 1)

Today marks the start of December. The first day of advent calendar chocolate goodness. And the day it is socially acceptable to listen to Christmas music.
It seems Christmas has been getting drawn out for longer and longer every year, with red cups appearing in coffee chains from early November and town centres being lit up for weeks already. People have already started fighting over discount TVs and Christmas movies are on the TV.
But that’s not what Christmas should be all about. Christmas is about God moving into our neighbourhood, Christ stepping down from heaven and coming to live and die among us as our Saviour. And in the run up to Christmas, in this advent season, that is what we are called to reflect on and remember.
So this year here at All4God we are going to do something we have never done before. We are going to do a daily advent reflection, with the overall theme of Heaven Touching Earth, because that is what the Christmas story is all about. But before we get to the manager first we need to pause and wait, for that is what advent is all about. It is a time of anticipation and longing for the arrival of Jesus – a time when we remember that He came to that lowly manger, but also a time when we remember He is coming back again. So we wait with joy, knowing that Jesus will return, knowing that the struggles of trials we may face are temporary, and knowing we can have hope for our God is not passive but He gets involved in our story. Our God is not distant but He is with us. Heaven came down and touched earth. And we await His glorious return.
As we wait we remember what went before. We reflect on the unchanging goodness of God. We trust in the unfailing love of Christ. We remember the unbreakable promises God has given us. We listen for the sound of heaven continuing to touch earth, for we know our God is not finished with us yet.
So this advent season, as we rush towards Christmas, take time to slow down. Time to pause. Time to reflect and await the arrival of Jesus of King. We will be sharing thoughts to help you each day, so keep coming back, and remember, Christmas isn’t about gingerbread lattes but about heaven touching earth.