Belmont University Advent GuideMfano

There is such an excitement when we wait for any gift during this time, whether it is from a sweet, generous grandmother or a friend who has pushed us along on playground swings and through the adversities of life. My heart, soul and spirit wait on the Lord. In this time of Advent, my heart recognizes the yearning for a savior, the longing call for a King who rescues us from darkness of this world, the evil authorities of the unseen world. As David calls in the psalm, our hearts have begun to prepare for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace. Moreover, our hearts rejoice at the coming of a gift, the Light! We have an understanding of this pure joy that Christ, the full embodiment of a human and fully God, has humbled himself to walk among the lost, sick and hurting. This joy is rooted in a trust that he would come to fulfill the prophecies, to redeem, restore and empower His children. A trust that is woven through our faith, to understand what it means to be accepted into a family of Love. A faith founded purely on His Love, that swallows us in Truth, meeting us with the opportunity to live in the Light. I pray as the season of Christmas comes near, we are like the children in the Temple; the temple in which Jesus knocked over tables, rebuked the wrongdoing, and declared the temple to be a place of worship. May we recognize our King and respond as the children, rejoicing “Hosanna to the Son of David!” as we continue to see the work of our Savior in this broken world.“ That is why we never give up. “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4.16). We can stand together in this family of Christ, firm in the armor of God rejoicing at this season of renewal. It is our recognition of the Son of God who is Light to us, that allows us to invite others into the Light as we shine with a joyful, waiting heart for the Lord. Shanty Luna Junior, Christian Leadership and Social Work