Advent is a time of waiting, longing, expecting, hoping...
Advent is a time of waiting, longing, expecting, hoping. The people of Israel were continually waiting for God to work out their salvation in and through the messiness of their historical circumstances. From Egyptian slaves to Promised Land freedom; from a loose confederation of tribes to a kingdom; from a single nation to a divided nation to a nation in exile to a nation returned. So much to go through, and they held on to their hope that God was not through with them. Paul has the same hope for his Christian friends -- that God is not through with them.