Monday, November 30, 2015

HOW'S YOUR LIFE TURNING OUT?

Dear friends,
        How is your life turning out? Is it what you expected it would be? Have you been able to fulfill any dreams you’d hope for? Are you still in the midst of fulfilling them, or did you have to change them as your life unfolded?
        Yesterday I asked my wife, “How is your life turning out?” She looked at me questioningly and said, “Good!” When I asked, “Is it what you’d expected it would be?” she said she’d had no real life plan or set of expectations and wanted to take each day as it came rather than fit it into some larger plan. Happily, she added that her life had turned out better than what she’d imagined. It was a nice discussion on November 29, our 29th wedding anniversary.
        Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, a time Christians set aside to prepare for Christ’s first Advent into the world as a human child born of the Holy Spirit. The first Advent was God fulfilling His larger plan of salvation for people. It is a time to remember the first Advent at Christmas and His second Advent in judgment at the end of time.
        This time of year Christians recall two married couples, Joseph and Mary, and Zechariah and Elizabeth. Long ago, there were major changes in their lives as the aged couple was blessed with a squalling baby. Their little boy would grow to become the prophet John the Baptizer who would prepare the way for Mary’s little boy who would one day be known as Yeshua ha Nosari, Jesus of Nazareth.
        Joseph and Mary’s life really changed when she admitted she was expecting a child out of wedlock. Of all the miracles surrounding the birth of Jesus, surely one of the greatest is that Joseph believed the angel. Both couples must have spent time discussing how their lives had changed from what they expected it would be.
        Luke 1:66 says their family and friends were also amazed, asking, “What then will this child be?” Children change a marriage, and the child Jesus changed the whole human race. When we each welcome Him into our hearts by faith, our dreams and hopes enter the realm of God and eternity. With Jesus by our side through this life and into the next, our life will turn out far better than we could have imagined.

How is your life turning out?

Rev. Bob Tasler
www.bobtasler.com

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