Thought for the week: Advent 2 - Love

Have you ever been roped into helping a child with a particularly challenging school project? Someone was asked to help their grandson with making a model for a school art project. The grandson expected that his grandparent would react immediately and miraculously produce materials and the help needed. The grandparent had two options: A) Try to find something in the house that could be used to make the model immediately; B) To think carefully and come up with a plan to buy some materials or spend time collecting paper and making a papier maché model.

After a hunt round the house turned up only a small amount of modelling clay, plan B was decided on and materials duly purchased for it. The papier maché took a while to prepare and was very messy, but the wait was worth it. Grandparent and grandchild had great fun making the modelling material and the whole family joined in and made their own models.

Though the grandchild had to wait longer, the end result was much more imaginative and creative – it was the result of a loving plan!

God has a plan for raising us up, saving and loving us. Sometimes the plan requires patience on our part. We may need to change some of our expectations or preconceived notions. Maybe we could use a different modelling material!

Our readings emphasise that God’s plan was and is one of love. It is carefully planned, with messengers and others preparing the way. And the outcome was God sending his son in love for the world.

The final part of Zechariah’s song sums the situation up rather nicely:

‘For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

That’s surely a loving plan worth waiting for!