Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, looking back to the perfect life that revealed the glory of God and led to the perfect sacrifice, which has extended grace for the salvation of all who receive it by faith. It is a celebration that ought to spill out into the whole year. Looking back to the Accomplished Work of Christ is a most worthy occupation for our hearts and minds, and one which is deeply rewarding. However, we ought also to look forward to the return of Christ, the Advent yet to come. This is also a worthy occupation with its own profound rewards, but it is sadly neglected on many of our church calendars. This was not always the case; the four weeks preceding Christmas were dedicated to the eager anticipation of our Lord’s return. The season of Advent has been reduced to little more than a buildup to the celebration of Christmas.
It is very likely that you, dear reader, are living in the wealthiest nation, in the most affluent age, and are possessed of many luxuries the richest of other times and places could not have imagined owning! Yet, that’s not the way it feels. Some real circumstances are slighting us in our enjoyment of our prosperity, and we cannot control them. We can control our attention. That attention is consistently being directed towards what we do not have.
The Meaning of Advent
Looking forward to the Second Coming prepares us to appreciate the first coming as it reminds us that the incarnation of Christ is more than a historical wonder, but a present and future assurance. What was, still is, and will be glorious, relevant to us all. It informs us how we shall live. See Philippians 3:20, Titus 2:11-13, and James 5:7:
- Philippians 3:20: “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:”
- Titus 2:11-13: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
- James 5:7: “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.”
This is not some helpful mental exercise, but an expectation of our new nature in Christ. For in Christ, we are members of the family of God, and we are away from many of our relatives. We are strangers in a strange land, journeying Home. See John 14:3: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
We are infected with the disease of sin, and its full removal is to come. Indeed, everything that we hate in righteous hatred is to end when Christ appears and makes everything right. We have every reason to eagerly anticipate the return of our Lord at the appointed time.
Alas, we are prone to neglect the future as it feels impossibly far off. Today tyrannically presses us with urgent concerns. Even the holidays can turn our minds from holy contemplations to lesser thoughts. The answers to these concerns, great and small, are in the Accomplished Work of Christ and His triumphant second appearance.
The Accomplished Work assures us of salvation, identity, and purpose; and the second coming of victory, fulfillment, and comfort. If you have looked inward and become depressed, then the joy of Christ is the cure, and if you have looked outward and become distressed, then the joy of Advent is the cure: and vice versa.
This is why our pattern of thought is not simply left to the dictates of the new nature, but thoroughly encouraged by the written word of Scripture. We are prone to go against that nature, and so deprive ourselves of the double joy of the season which has the singular reason of Christ, but in the threefold truth of Christ who was, who is, and who will be.
If you narrow the focus of December to the birth of Christ, you have lessened the celebration. You are telling a part of the story and leaving out the rest. The beginning of the story is wonderful indeed, but if we have no sense of the end, the beginning is an empty wonder. This is why the foretelling of Christ found in the prophets of the Old Testament is not confined to His birth, or even to His earthly ministry and atoning death, but takes in the full implications of His victorious return.
This is why the New Testament does not end with the explanation of what had happened in the First Coming of Christ, but with the revelation of what He shall do in His Second Coming.
Now, we might well say that the Second Coming should occupy us all year round and not only for four weeks in December. That is exactly right. We could say the same of the incarnation and the passion. Holding a season of remembrance is not a means of confinement, but of insurance. We are limiting ourselves, but hold ourselves accountable. We are designating a time so that time is given.
This is a concession to our own weakness and fickleness. It is also a means of keeping before the watching world one of the great truths of the Gospel. The Lord who came is coming back. The world needs to hear this and to know that it is as sure as the historical ministry of Christ.
We ourselves may well need help to hear, especially with all the noise of the holiday business. A few authors have provided for our needs with volumes meant to focus our attention, deepen our understanding, and lead us in rejoicing. Sarah Rice’s Tracing Glory: The Story of Christmas Through the Bible devotional that dares to go beyond the typical passages to show how all of Scripture speaks to the reason for the season.
There is also an activity book, which makes this an excellent choice for families. Allistair Beggs’ devotional Let Earth Receive Her King also encompasses the first and second coming of Christ. John Piper has written a devotional for Christmas and another for the Second Coming. When it comes to Christmas devotions, there is no end. Nearly every notable teacher has authored something for the Christmas season. Fewer have offered a look forward to Advent, but we hope to see this change in the years to come.
Of course, the Bible itself has much to say about the Lord’s return to fill our hearts this Advent season. We can turn to Revelation, Daniel, and Matthew 24, among other passages. Many of us will be reading through the Gospel of Luke this month, where we also hear about our Lord’s return. I hope you will look forward, and back, that what was and will be shall enrich what is.
I leave you with the benediction of John the Revelator in Revelation 22:20-21: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
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- Views From a Branch: The True Meaning of Advent & Anticipating the Second Coming - December 19, 2025
- Appreciating God: The Incarnation of Jesus Christ Explained - November 21, 2025
- Views From a Branch: On Christian Contentment & Why God is Enough - November 11, 2025
