Advent: November 30

Read: 2 Peter 3:8–10
Thoughts for Parents:

Many people in Christ’s day didn’t recognize His coming, but that didn’t stop Him from loving them and saving them. And many people today don’t recognize Him either, but that doesn’t stop Him from being patient and waiting for their salvation to be complete. The Lord may return while you’re reading this or He may not return until after you’re long gone. We don’t know when He’s coming back but we do know that He’s not hesitating because He’s angry. No, He’s hesitating because He’s “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Jesus’ contemporaries were waiting, too. They were waiting for the Messiah, for the One to come who would set them free and save them. Even though many did not recognize Him, when He came, He still marched on from Bethlehem toward Calvary and their salvation.

In this passage, you are the “beloved” of God, those whom He has chosen and loved. Yet, there are still other “beloveds” who have yet to come to Him, perhaps even members of your family. Don’t be anxious, because He’s not. He’s waiting because He loves sinners. In the end, in eternity you’ll see that everything came together just when and as it should have. Everything wrong will be made right. Everything sad will be made joyous.
Thoughts for Children:

Waiting is very hard, especially when you are waiting for something that you really want. We have 23 days until we celebrate Christmas, and every day feels like a thousand years. In our verses today we hear about what God is waiting for; He is waiting to come again. Jesus already came once a very long time ago; He came as a baby and that is what we celebrate at Christmas time. He came because He loves us. He wanted to make a way for us to be a part of His family. He came because He knew we were all sinners, which is just a fancy way of saying that He knows we don’t obey the way we should or love the way we should. The terrible thing about sin is wherever sin goes tears follow. He came because he wanted us to repent, which is just a fancy way of saying that we need to say we are sorry for all the unkind things we have done.

The day He comes back again will be the day that all sad things will become unsad. Everything that is wrong will become right. All the tears and all the sin will be gone. Every day we wait for Christmas day, we remember how Jesus is waiting to come back one more time. The reason He is waiting is because He wants lots and lots of people to repent and become a part of His forever family. You can become part of His forever family today. You don’t have to wait. All you have to do is believe that He loves you even though you disobey.