Black Friday has always been one of my least favorite and embarrassing days of the year. It reminds me of how desperately we need a refreshed perspective about what matters.
The good thing is that this year Black Friday looks very different because of COVID. At least there will not be the 4:00 am maniacal crowds crushing one another and the worried security guards to get to that holy grail pricing for a flat screen TV or PlayStation 5. While I am grateful the nonsense has come to an end, at least for 2020, what has not changed is the obsessive need to fill some empty void in our lives with things that never fill or satisfy those holes in our lives.
One of the saddest things about the Black Friday frenzies, now extended to weeks of online marketing promos, is how many Christians succumb to this empty pursuit of material things and miss the real significance of the ‘Holy-days’ of this season. With all that has occurred in 2020, you would think we, who are followers of Christ from every generation, would turn our attention to that which matters for eternity.
Which is why I want to challenge you to reconsider the importance of Advent as a way to shift your focus and turn from the countless distractions the Enemy has so carefully crafted to lead us away from what matters. Advent simply means “coming”. This unique Christian tradition was instituted to remind us of what Christ’s coming truly means, and why nothing else can come close to bringing hope and contentment in a world filled with greed and emptiness. Advent is a powerful way of preparing our hearts for the celebration and worship of our glorious God and Father who gave us the most miraculous and transformational gift in all of human history.
Advent reminds us of the story of the culmination of God’s promises of salvation wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. This child came to dwell among us, to die in our place, and to rise from the dead as Conqueror over the power of death and sin on our behalf. Contrary to most people’s thinking that Black Friday Sales matter, they really don’t matter compared to this love gift from our heavenly Father.
Use the Tool
I urge you to get out your Advent candles and your Bible and ask God to shift your focus from the allurements of materials things to the everlasting gift of grace and love that transforms everything. While not a magic potion to alleviate suffering, it is a powerful reminder of where our hope comes from, and where our allegiance really is. To whom or what do we give worship and devotion? Where do we find hope?
Followers of Christ must be clear about who is Lord in our lives. Is it politicians, presidents, the god of materialism, or is it Christ? Advent is an opportunity to declare our allegiance to Jesus alone as Lord. The world may mock us and hate us for making that claim. Or they may persistently distract us with another ‘god’ to fill our lives. Let’s not take the bait this year.
This has been an undeniably unusual year. Perhaps God has given us the trials and challenges of 2020 in order to give us a gift. I’m serious. This is a year of opportunity to receive the gift of renewal—the renewal of our minds and hearts to comprehend and conform our lives to the reality of who is Lord and in control. It’s a time to renew our perspective about what Christ alone can give us that this world cannot—hope.
Our hope lies in Christ who came in the flesh in a humble manger in the obscure town of Bethlehem to pay the debt for our sins, and who will one day come again to claim those He purchased with His own blood for all eternity. Then, our Lord will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more pain or sorrow… or COVID. All things will be made new. Now that is a gift worth celebrating and a Lord worthy of all our devotion!
If you do not already have an Advent devotional series that you use, here are two free sources for Advent devotionals. Advent begins this Sunday, November 29th.
ADVENT RESOURCES:
- Salesian Missions Advent Devotionals
- Crosswalk Advent Devotional for 2020
- Catholic Current Advent Resources
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