Advent

Today at church our pastor spoke on the subject of Advent, specifically the passage known as the 'Magnificat'. This year as I read that passage, Luke 1:46-56, I saw it in a totally new light. Our pastor was talking about how Mary's soul was magnifying the Lord and how that seemed impossible, for something as small as a human to be able to magnify something as large and incredible as God. He said that the way we magnify the Lord is by using every opportunity in our lives to point towards God. That struck me in a huge way as I often am so wrapped up in my own world and my petty problems that I don't think to look for ways to point people towards God instead of myself. This has challenged me to strive to look at the bigger picture when there are things going wrong or something that is upsetting me. In comparison to the grandness of the Lord, the irritations in my life are not even specks. How am I living abundantly and in the full joy that He desires for my life if I am constantly allowing myself to get wrapped up in things that can't possibly compare to Him? I think that my life will be a lot different and more enjoyable if I always keep this in mind and keep a clear perspective on my life.

After the service we were singing 'Angels We Have Heard on High' and during the chorus it struck me how this song is not just a simple Christmas carol but so much more. As I stood there with almost 300 people and sang the words of that song, I realized how much of a worship song it is as well. I thought back to what it must have been like in heaven on the night Jesus was born, to have heard all the angels singing in joy as the realized the blessing that had just come to Earth.
Again, this is something I will see and fully understand when I pull myself out of my petty problems and focus on the big picture: that God truly loved us all so much that He sent His Son as a little baby, to grow up on this Earth and experience the same things we do, and then to give it all up and die a horrible death on the cross,but then rise again to conquer death and all of sin to bring us life to the fullest!!