Advent Devotional for Monday, Nov. 29

This year for Advent, I’m offering a daily devotional to members of my Sunday School class as a way to get us grounded on the meaning of this season of preparation. The devotions focus on key elements of the Advent season such as expectation, hope, peace, and rejoicing. We’re starting on in a mode of expectation or preparation. How are we preparing for the return of Christ as we live in the hope and expectation of that glorious day.

Here is the devotion for today. Hopefully, I’ll remember to post more of these throughout the season.

November 29, 2010, First Monday of Advent

Scripture: Isaiah 64:8-9

And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people.

Part of expecting an arrival is being prepared for the arrival. A family expecting the birth of a child spends the nine months before the baby is born preparing for its arrival by buying needed clothes and accessories and preparing a nursery. At Christmas, even, we prepare our homes for the season by putting up Christmas trees, making cookies, and wrapping our gifts. We’re used to the idea of preparation for the things we are expecting.

Our verse today asks us some important questions, especially during the Advent season. Who is in charge of our preparations and for what are we being prepared for? As a time of preparation, Advent calls us to ready ourselves for Christ’s return. God is our Father and potter, and we are God’s children and clay. God desires us to allow him to mold us, and shape us, into the image he desires for us. That is the image of Christ, to be shaped by that love, and allow that image to impact how we interact with the world around us.

As we grow deeper in our relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms us to be what God has called us to be. Maybe it is the best mother or father we can be. Maybe it is to be more patient and loving. Maybe it is to be more hopeful when all seems lost. Whatever that may be, it is God’s desire for us to grow closer to him, so that we may be transformed and made ready for Christ’s return.

So how are we preparing today? How are we growing closer to God in our relationship with Christ so that we may experience the potter’s hands working in our lives?

Lord, You are the Potter, we are the clay. Mold us into what you desire for us. As we move forward into the season of Advent, prepare us for the Second Advent so that we may be ready for Christ’s return. Amen.