Emphasis Preaching Journal

The gift of Advent is the gift of time, since "with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like one day" (v. 8). Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol is a beautiful story about Advent time. Recall that Ebenezer Scrooge experiences time personified in the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. When the Ghosts depart, Scrooge has only one question, "What time is it?" He runs to the window and calls down to a boy in the street. "What's today?" To the shocked ears of the little boy, Ebenezer needs to know the time: It's Christmas Day. Dickens writes: "Yes, the bedpost was his own. The bed was his own, the room was his own. Best and happiest of all, the time before him was his own, to make amends in" (Pulpit Digest, Nov.-
Dec. 1994, p. 34). 2 Peter reminds us of the gift of time in the season of Advent. -- Bolton