The Cheerful Smirk Of Advent

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” 1 Peter 1.8

For the past several weeks, this verse has been jumping at me. It’s been haunting my mind and even conversations I’ve had.

I think one reason it has caught me so is that it carries a lot of the weight of the advent season.

The waiting.

The yearning.

The expectation.

But the thing that I love about this verse is, although it does portray the deep underlying desire we should have to actually see Jesus in the flesh–for the broken to be restored and our faith to become sight–it also gives us hope for the moment.

No matter what kind of moment we’re in. Ecstatic moments, sad moments, in-the-middle moments–it doesn’t matter.

Even through trials and stress and heartache, there is “joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”

Why?

Because of who we’re waiting on. Because of who we’re yearning for and expecting.

Because of the fact that as we celebrate the glorious occasion of his first advent, we are reminded that he will be back for the second advent. To make everything that is shattered whole.

And that is enough.

Because even though it’s not all we want yet–sight and smell and touch–we still get him in the here and now. While we wait.

And that is more than enough, because he is more than enough.

We are not given a joyless waiting. We are given him. While we wait for more of him.

If I could give this verse a facial expression, it would be a cheerful smirk–the kind of look that is privy to some great secret that changes everything.

“Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”

Put that in your noggin and let it rattle around today. I bet if you let it sink in, it will work its way out in that cheerful smirk.

The Cheerful Smirk Of Advent

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