"But the angel said to her...'You will be with child and give birth to a son, you are to give him the
name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.'" Luke 1:31-32a
We almost always begin the story of Advent with the angel's appearance to Mary, his subsequent visit to Joseph, and the events leading up to the young family resting in the quiet of the stable. But the reality is that Advent does not begin with the family in a borrowed stable. It does not begin with angelic announcements, a young virgin, or the righteous betrothed. Advent begins in the eternal heart of God, within the love, fellowship and family of the Trinity. The baby in the manger, God's Son, has always existed eternally as the Son of God within the beauty, perfection, and glory he shares with God the Father and the Holy Spirit - all existing as one God. He didn't just suddenly become a son when he was born of Mary, he has always been a Son - God's Son, enveloped in the love and affection of the Father. Advent's story begins within the eternal family of God himself and finds its purpose and meaning there as well. Advent is all about the loving heart of God as Father and his invitation to us to become a treasured part of his family.
Love is costly. And there was a cost, an excruciating cost, to this invitation. God knew this would mean a sacrifice beyond all comprehension. God the Father knew the steep price he would pay and the agony it meant for the Son. God knew that it would break up their family for a time, that they would be separated by distance, time, sin and wrath. God knew that because they are One, both would suffer immeasurably. But God the Father also knew that the only way for the glory of his person to be revealed and embraced in all its fullness -not just feared from a distance, but personally known and passionately loved, was for his Son to leave his side and become the son of another. God knew that the only way he could be fully known was for him to be seen and experienced as the Father he is. It is in the identity of the Son not just as God, but as the Son of God that we discover God as Father and God as our Father. We see his tenderness, his gentleness, his compassion, his protective care, his miraculous intervention, and his power manifest through heart-breaking love. We see the sacrificial heart of a perfect Father, willing to give up His One and Only Son in order to adopt us as his sons and daughters. Advent is not just the revelation of our Savior in the person of Christ, it is also the revelation of God as our Abba Father. It is an invitation to discover his heart and experience the passionate, extravagant love he has for us, his cherished, beloved children.