FILO: Advent for the Church Technical ArtistSample

Today, we are looking at a passage from 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 3-9.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Almost every day, when my kids come home from school, the first words out of their mouths are, “Can I watch something?” They usually get the response, “Let’s go inside, look at take-home folders, and get settled.” I have even tried to preempt the question on the car ride home with, “Ok, so when we get home, please don’t just ask for screen time right away.”

Then I watch them wait - each of them waits differently. One checks the tasks I mentioned above off the list: homework - check, empty lunch box - check, tell mom a little about my day - check. Another throws the contents of her backpack out on the table (or floor) and then walks over to me with the TV remote in hand. I often find my youngest writhing on the floor until there is some relief to the soul-crushing anticipation she is under.

How about you? How do you wait when you are looking forward to something? Do you feel you know the other things that need to be accomplished? Do you just want to rush and dump it all out, circumventing some processes? Or do you find yourself tempted just to lie down and give up? Let’s face it - sometimes waiting is hard!

What encourages me about how the writer addresses waiting in the 1 Corinthians passage is how they talk about how well-equipped we are in the waiting period. We are “enriched in every way.” We do “not lack anything” as we wait. As you approach Christmas and enter this advent season, where is God reminding you that you are “enriched in every way”? When you don’t want to wait for a project, meeting, or colleague to get their act together, how is the Spirit of the Living God reminding you that you “do not lack anything”?

Those questions may be hard to answer right now. I invite you to pause and ask God to reveal himself to you in those ways. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind the gifts God has equipped you with to meet the challenges of waiting in this season.

- Aubrey Wentz