Genesis 3:8 NLT

'When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.'

As a child I remember my dad tuning into the Advent service of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge. He loved this and it became a tradition for all our family. Over the next five days I will use the traditional Nine Lessons and Carols service to encourage us on our walk to Christmas.

The story begins with the breach in relationship between God and God’s creation. Guilt is revealed as Adam and Eve seek to hide from God, aware of their sin. From that moment, the separation between God and humanity has continued until now. Here we stand at the dawning of the process that will heal that rift, restore relationship and announce “Peace on earth”. As an opening hymn to the service declares, “Dark and dull night, fly hence away”.

It’s difficult to establish peace when war has prevailed for years. It is worth taking some time to identify and demolish any walls that we have raised or are raising between ourselves and God. Interestingly, Adam and Eve do not seem to have acted from much other than curious self-interest. The problem is that self will always distract us from God. God’s act in sending Jesus is selfless, and Jesus’ obedience to his Father is again selfless. Within this season where the emphasis is all too often about self, a celebration of consumerism, to take some time over these last few days of Advent is to prepare our hearts for the real significance of the Christmas event.

QUESTION: What barriers have you raised between you and God?

PRAYER: Sovereign Lord, thank you that you took the initiative to rescue and redeem.