You always have to measure the urgency in the plea, “Daddy come here”. Of course, if someone is screaming that phrase you know you are needed quickly. But if it is more of an excited/come see what I have done you know you can pace yourself a bit. But regardless of the speed of arrival the desired outcome is always the same. Daddy is going to make something happen. Either he is going to fix the situation where something is broken or someone is hurt. Or he is going to affirm our accomplishment and praise our efforts. He is going to put band-aids on our boo-boos or get so excited about our blanket fort that he becomes the invading zombie army trying to overthrow our miniature civilization. There really is nothing like that call to be “daddy” in a situation with your child.

And now we find ourselves in Advent, the beginning of the church calendar. The term Advent, according to the Online Etymology Dictionary stems from the Latin for “a coming, approach, arrival”. This is the season where we as the Church anticipate the arrival of Christ as a past reality in the form of a child born in Bethlehem and as a future reality as the Risen Lord coming to judge between the nations. But, I think all too often we stay focused on the story of Christ having come and we forget about Him coming again. And really who can blame us?

The Second Coming has been a subject of sensationalism for more than one hundred years now. There are movies and books and pamphlets and even bumper stickers that try to prey on peoples fears of eternal judgment and raptures and beasts and the list goes on and on…But this is not the story of Advent that I read in Revelation. I read a beautiful story of a people who are suffering for the name of Christ in an empire that hates Him. This empire has placed value in amusement, money, possessions and vice (sound familiar) while the church/the bride of Christ has been called to abstain from those things and remain pure. Because of their stance some of them have suffered ridicule, persecution and even death. The imagery of what they go through is cast with fantastic visions of beasts and unfair markets and kingdoms bent on drawing the Bride away from Christ. But the story doesn’t end there. Because of their faithfulness in the midst of Babylon these people are brought into the presence of the Lamb which was slain and are granted life forevermore in a new Heaven and a new Earth that go way beyond description. So much so that the writer of this fantastic imagery doesn’t become anxious about the future but rather writes in Revelation 22:20-21, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”

The plea is for Christ to come quickly…for Abba Father (Daddy) to come quickly. Come, come and see how we are giving ourselves for You and for Your Kingdom. Yes, some of us are broken…but we know You can fix us. And we know our accomplishments aren’t much, but they are for you and we know you love them, because you love us. Come quickly. We want You to see. We want to see You. We long for You…

This is Advent.