I have been reading an Advent devotional each morning since after Thanksgiving. Because distractions are in abundance— Shopping lists, grocery lists, Christmas Card list of addresses, parties, gift exchanges, cookie baking for school, decorating the home, wrapping the gifts, and more— I appreciate the focus on what britannica.com says is “the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.”
I want my heart to be ready for Christmas morning—Jesus is here! Immanuel, God With Us! And I want my heart to be ready for the second coming of Christ—Jesus is here!
Confession is an active part of this process, of this anticipation of Christ’s arrival. As I read this morning from my devotional and stared into my nativity set up on the table next to where I sit, I was struck with this focus by the author:
“And another mystic says human nature is like a stable inhabited by the ox of passion and the ass of prejudice; animals which take up a lot of room and which I suppose most of us are feeding on the quiet. And it is there between them, pushing them out, that Christ must be born and in their very manger must be laid…sometimes Christians seem far nearer to those animals than to Christ.”
I was forced to ask myself —what animals of sin am I quietly feeding in my life? What nasty animal am I cuddled up to when Christ is here? Is it gossip? Self-pity? Materialism? Busyness? Gluttony (hello, Christmas treats everywhere, every day)? I want to be nearer to Christ. I want His birth in my life to push out the animals wreaking havoc and smelling up the place.
Confession is the way back to Christ. Confession is a part of Advent.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” I John 1:9
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
