Advent In Reverse
Lighting the candles backward?
I wonder if we have lit the Advent candles in reverse as we light the Christ Candle last. I know that they are lit in chronological order of the events surrounding the promise and birth of our Lord. Their names and colors also signify the promise His birth would bring. However, if we look at them from the results brought about by the birth of Christ, it makes sense to begin with the Christ candle. Everything that we celebrate in Advent begins with the birth of Jesus! Advent means coming—the coming of God incarnate, as he plunged himself into humanity—a child born in a manger. At the time of Jesus' birth, the world looked forward to the Messiah coming, although they had no idea he would be a babe born in a lowly manger. Today, we look back at his birth as reality because it has already happened! The Christ, the Savior of mankind, has been born (past tense)! So, it makes sense to begin lighting the Christ candle first because his birth brought about the possibility of true hope, peace, joy, and love.
Hope: Because God became one of us, we can have hope beyond the troubles, turmoil, madness, and mundaneness of our day-to-day lives. In Christ, our future is secure! We can look forward to a new heaven and earth, with the promise that “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4 NLT). What marvelous hope this promise brings!
Peace: Because Christ has come, we can have a peace that surpasses our understanding (Philippians 4:7). Jesus gives peace beyond anything offered by the world we live in. It is beyond any human comprehension or effort. It eradicates fear and settles the anxious heart. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don't let your heart be troubled or fearful” (John 14:27 CSB).
Joy: Because of the birth of the God-babe in a manger, we can have true joy. We can access a joy that goes through and beyond what is happening in our lives—even in difficult and seemingly impossible times. We can have this joy because Christ has given us his joy. He said, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:11 NLT).
Love: The reason Jesus came into the world was love. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 CSB). Jesus becoming Immanuel (God with us) became a reality because “God is love” (1 John 4:8). He showed us that love by becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14). Not only do we experience that love by remaining in him, but he has also given us the ability to love others with that kind of love. This would have never happened if Christ had not been born, grew into a man, and laid down his life for us.
So, what am I getting at here? I am not advocating that we should start lighting the Advent candles in a different order or stop lighting them all together. I am simply saying, “Do not leave Jesus in the manger this Christmas!” Christmas is more than his birth. Christ came as a newborn child, but he also became a man who died on the cross and was raised from the dead. Christmas and Easter are eternally linked. There cannot be one without the other. Only through a faith relationship with a crucified and risen Jesus can we access the hope, peace, joy, and love promised through the babe in a manger.
This Christmas, I pray that you experience, in depths beyond your wildest imagination, the true hope, peace, joy, and love of Christmas.
