Advent and the Nearness Of God

What is your good? How would you define it?

Is it the early morning cup of coffee? Is your good watching your team grab the unexpected victory? Perhaps your good is that secluded walk along a forest trail. Or it may be any number of special treasures that only you know.

Then there is the special good of the Advent. Advent redefines what good is and makes one good tower above all of the longings and aspirations that our heart can capture.

The Psalmist gives a first window into what is the highest of all goods:

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord God my refuge…”

The nearness of his God was his good. But the Psalmist could only catch glimpses of that special “good.” Isaiah fills out the canvas with strokes of anticipation of the coming Christ when he says:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Immanuel — God with us. The wonder of the Advent is that Jesus came so that he could be with us, his people. The nearness of God is always there for you to grasp. He never leaves you, even when you despair and feel the weight of loneness!

Christ’s nearness is your good, my good. It can resonate with your spirit more than you could ever ask or imagine. Bask in the wonder of Christ’s birth! The nearness of God is your good.

Shepherd Press