One Does What One Can
(Cameron Trimble)

Luke 21:34-36

“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Sometimes we say that Advent is about waiting. But that implies that we’re just sitting around waiting for the time to pass until the birth of the Christ child. But Advent isn’t passive. Lived well, Advent is the time when we are the most active, the most alert, the most awake, the most in tune with the world because we are expecting God to break through into our lives.

I believe that God longs to break into each of our well-protected lives, to teach us about hope, love, joy, and peace, right now. If anything, Advent is the time when we must wake up to live in the present, to live the life that God has given us right now, to refuse to live yesterday over and over, to resist the temptation to save our best selves for tomorrow, to not put off living the kind of life we were meant to live today. There’s not time for that, no matter how much time is left.

-Rev. Cameron Trimble

In your own words, how does Luke’s invitation to “be on guard” connect with the season of Advent?

What does it mean for you to live in the present and refuse to live yesterday over and over?

This episode was written and recorded by Cameron Trimble. It was produced by Jim Keat. Background tracks include Relenquish by Podington Bear, Opus 04 by Dexter Britain, Liberez comme des enfant by Dexter Britain, Frosted Glass by Podington Bear, Tumbler by Podington Bear, In the Sun by David Szestay, and The Soft Glow of Christmas Lights by Will Bangs.

Click here to download the 2018 Advent devotional.

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