Anticipate, Agape, Agog
What an awesome word God gave me to ponder. Anticipate.
I had planned to dedicate December to an Advent study on anticipating the coming of Christ. Then on December 2nd life situations shifted as my mother in law became quite ill the day after my father in law had hip replacement surgery, the doctor called to say my father has a Stage 4 Melanoma and a precious neighbor found out she has lung cancer. Instead of concentrating on anticipating Christmas traditions, I shifted to anticipating the Lord to do great things in these lives I care deeply about.
Merriam-Webster defines anticipate these way:
1): to give advance thought, discussion, or treatment to
2): to meet (an obligation) before a due date
3): to foresee and deal with in advance
4): to look forward to as certain: expect
5): to speak or write in knowledge or expectation of latter matter
Does anyone else get fired up reading these definitions and realizing how Biblical the act of anticipating is?
[ New Heavens and a New Earth ] “Pay close attention now: I’m creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I’m creating: I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight. I’ll take joy in Jerusalem, take delight in my people: No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; No more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime; One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal— anything less will seem like a cheat. They’ll build houses and move in. They’ll plant fields and eat what they grow. No more building a house that some outsider takes over, No more planting fields that some enemy confiscates, For my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work. They won’t work and have nothing come of it, they won’t have children snatched out from under them. For they themselves are plantings blessed by GOD, with their children and grandchildren likewise GOD-blessed. Before they call out, I’ll answer. Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard. Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow, lion and ox eat straw from the same trough, but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt! Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says GOD. Isaiah 65:17_25
A synonym for the noun anticipant is not only a FUN "A" word, but it too holds great Biblical relevance.
Agog- hmm, seems to go with the seasonal word "eggnog". It means full of intense interest or excitement. While we know that is true, for children, when it comes to what is in those packages under the tree, it should also be true of us. Advent- means coming.
While our enthusiasm for Christ's coming should be in full gear everyday, the month of December certainly gives us a platform to be full of excitement and shout from the rooftops, or at least the Christmas programs and parties, how much we love Jesus. What if each day this month when we are out and about we ask someone: What is it you anticipate or look forward to the most about Christ's return?
While our enthusiasm for Christ's coming should be in full gear everyday, the month of December certainly gives us a platform to be full of excitement and shout from the rooftops, or at least the Christmas programs and parties, how much we love Jesus. What if each day this month when we are out and about we ask someone: What is it you anticipate or look forward to the most about Christ's return?
