Advent is about anticipation. As Christians approach the Christmas holiday, we use the preceding weeks to slow down and profoundly meditate on the staggering reality of the incarnation of the Son of God to deepen our sense of expectation and wonder—a sense undoubtedly felt by those who anticipated the Messiah’s first coming.
Participating in the Advent season is how we put ourselves, as it were, in their shoes. It is for this reason that churches observe traditional Advent liturgies, pastors preach Advent sermon series, families use Advent calendars or wreaths, and Christians read Advent devotional books like Gifts of Grace.
All of this observance helps us focus more devotedly on—and please forgive the cliché—“the reason for the season”.
But I will admit that when I was a child, though I was raised in a faithful Christ-following, church-going family (who even lit candles in an Advent wreath a few years in a row), my fleshly little heart was focused more on anticipating the gifts under the tree on Christmas Day than the miracle of the Word putting on flesh.
To be honest, I still struggle with a misdirected focus at Christmastime. I don’t think I yearn inordinately for presents like when I was a child, but I still suffer from a childish impatience, an immature inability to be still, go slow, and embrace anticipation.
I think a lot of other people share this struggle too, if our drive-thru, self-serve, express-lane kind of culture is any indication. But impatience and “hurry sickness” and the inability to focus are not new phenomena.
I suppose this is how those nifty Advent calendars came about. Do you know the ones I mean? Sometimes they are made of flimsy paper or cardboard, but sometimes nicer ones are made of wood or some other sturdy material, and they usually feature 24 little doors, one for each day of Advent.
Behind each little door is a little treat, a little gift. Sometimes the gift is a chocolate or other candy; sometimes it’s a little toy or charm. The idea is that 24 little gifts spread out over the days of Advent can arrest one’s attention and even build the sense of expectation for the bigger celebration on Christmas Day.
The treasure trove of Christ’s gospel is a lot like a Narnian wardrobe. It looks small enough on the outside—perhaps even simple or manageable—but once you walk through it, you discover an entire parallel universe of wonder and glory.
I recently saw one jokester on Twitter say that Advent calendars help children “micro-dose” Christmas!
There’s some truth to that, though. The daily gifts of a thoughtful Advent calendar can help us more fully absorb the resonance of this season—besieged as it is with all the festive bells and whistles that never seem to deliver on their promise of enchantment—and more fully enjoy the central gift of Christmas: Jesus the King, himself.
Reflecting on daily gifts throughout advent is the purpose of Gifts of Grace. I want us to think of them like an Advent calendar. Every day, we will open up a little door to rediscover one of the myriad gifts Christians receive through the coming of Christ and belief in his gospel.
In John’s Gospel, the apostle tells us that from the fullness of Christ flows “grace upon grace” (1:16). Jesus is indeed an unceasing fountain of grace for those united to him by faith. So day by day, we will consider one amazing grace after another.
The daily gifts of a thoughtful Advent calendar can help us more fully absorb the resonance of this season—besieged as it is with all the festive bells and whistles that never seem to deliver on their promise of enchantment—and more fully enjoy the central gift of Christmas: Jesus the King, himself.
To be clear, though, unlike the tiny treats or trinkets in an Advent calendar, none of these gifts of grace are even by themselves little! The treasure trove of Christ’s gospel is a lot like a Narnian wardrobe. It looks small enough on the outside—perhaps even simple or manageable—but once you walk through it, you discover an entire parallel universe of wonder and glory.
The whole gospel of grace is like that, and each dimension of its glory is like that too. I have heard it said that the gospel is a pool shallow enough for a child to play in and at the same time deep enough to drown an elephant!
But the bigness of each daily gift of grace that we examine will be building to something bigger still. And my prayer for readers is that examining the diamond of the gospel facet by facet for the next 24 days will find you on Day 25 more awestruck and joy-filled about the glory of Christ our Lord.
It is only by beholding Christ’s glory, in fact, that we can be made like him (2 Corinthians 3:18).
This article is an excerpt from the introduction of Gifts of Grace, an advent devotional by Jared Wilson.
Jared C. Wilson is assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Spurgeon College, author in residence of Midwestern Seminary, general editor of For the Church, and director of the Pastoral Training Center at Liberty Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. His books include Your Jesus Is Too Safe, Gospel Wakefulness, The Imperfect Disciple, and Supernatural Power for Everyday People. He lives outside Kansas City with his wife, Becky, and their two daughters.
