How Will You Celebrate Advent This Year?

Apathy at Advent

The Christmas season is upon us. For many Christians, myself included, Advent is a season of excitement and joy as we celebrate the incarnation (putting on flesh) of the Son of God. While it's easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of gifts, food, family time, and fun, there's another subtle distraction that can keep us from enjoying Christ during the Advent season—apathy.

Who could be apathetic during such a joyful time of year? I can't speak for anyone else, but I know I tend to struggle with apathy. It's a sneaky little thought that creeps in every year: "I've read the Christmas story a million times. There's nothing more to get out of it. A virgin birth. Check. Shepherds. Check. Three wise men. Check." Some years I gloss over these magnificent and eternity-altering words without even a spark of excitement or joy. I can hear John Piper exhorting me to "LINGER....LINGER...LINGER!!" 

You may be thinking that Advent and Christmas aren't even biblical holidays, so we shouldn't even be worried about lacking holiday joy. You're right in saying that the Bible doesn't command Christians to celebrate Advent or Christmas. I've had some friends make a huge fuss about this, but you can't convince me that it's sinful to celebrate the Son of God coming in the flesh. However, I am fully convinced that there's something wrong with my heart when I don't get excited about Jesus.

The Gift of Gifts

I'm ashamed to admit that I get excited about lesser things. If you turn on a UK game, I'll find myself drawn to the screen. If you buy me a new tech gadget, I'll spend a day or two getting it set up and playing with it. If you hand me a new book, I'll spend some time flipping through the table of contents and reading the opening chapters. If those things bring me excitement, why doesn't Jesus?

Part of my problem is that I let lesser gifts capture my attention. Flame, a Christian rapper, once said that we are like a pig in a pin who will pass up a steak to eat slop. C.S. Lewis said we settle for mud pies. I don't want pig slop or mud pie faith. I want the joy of the Shepherds and the Magi who dropped everything to celebrate the Life and Light of men who burst on the scene to save His people from their sins and be with them. I want to rejoice in the God who came to be with sinners in order to save them.

For me, Advent is a time to be lifted from the miry bog and set on the firm ground. I find myself distracted more now than ever. Too often, my eyes have been set on this earth below rather than on the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Advent is a time to grab my Bible, a great devotional, and a notebook to feast on the glory of Christ. He is the greatest of all gifts.

6 Ways to Meet With God During Advent
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This year, my Advent plans are to:

1. Read The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair Ferguson and the relevant Scriptures in the book.
2. Study some passages about Jesus' incarnation.
3. Eat dinners lit by oil lamp with my family on several evenings as we read a family Advent devotional and the Bible.
4. Help my kids set up Advent Blocks that will help us remember various aspects of Jesus' first coming.
5. Meditate and jot some short and quick prayers in my journal to stir up my affections for Jesus.
6. Listen to biblical, Christ-centered Advent playlists (along with my Christmas jazz playlist, of course!). 

I'm not doing every one of these things every single day. None of this guarantees that I'll be happier this Advent season. None of it earns me a spot closer to God. However, I want to do most of these on most days because they're simple ways to connect with God.

​I want to saturate my heart with Christ more than I saturated my mind with Covid-19 variants and social issues. I want to discuss the glories of Christ and His coming in the flesh more than I scroll social media. I'm not saying that any of those things is inherently wrong to think about and discuss, but it is wrong to be consumed by them, and we need seasons to stare at the glory of Christ and be transformed in that beholding of our Savior. Advent will be a much needed time to enjoy the Lord.

What are your Advent traditions? How will you celebrate Advent differently this year than other years?

If you need an Advent reading Guide, check this one out! 

Photo by Katie Evensen from Pexels