"Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purpose of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God" 1 Cor 4:5

The Lord is coming. Advent, as we know, means arrival--the Lord's arrival. We think about how He once came to earth and how He will come again. One day the Lord will come for the last time, and that day is not infinitely far off. God has a purpose with this series of events. Although we like to think the future has no end. Christ teaches us something different. God can't repair the fundamental fault in His  without reconciling the whole world. And He will do it. He won't wait millions of years. Time is short. In that sense, we always live in Advent. The final act of Christ remains. We are now in a period of transition, a temporary state, waiting in expectation for that decisive moment. We live in a fallen world. Here in time, there are no definite solutions. But we live with the hope and promise of God's final solution to all the world's problems.

There is so much we can't understand. We are quick to judge, as if we know what goes on in the hearts of men, but God withholds judgment for Himself. He persuades and modifies. He can postpone intervention for so long that we become impatient. He can let His judgment strike individuals as well as nations, but we can never believe that we understand everything that God does. We can only wait and see.

We learn to understand God's manner of working best through His own Word. The Bible is basically history, specifically the history of salvation. It is a description of how God links the fate of the world directly to the goal He has set for history. We hear how He chose and reared Israel. We see how He dealt with sinful men throughout time, men who were full of pettiness and passion and capable of the worst transgressions. This is also true many of those who were God's instruments. "Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me" (Isaiah 43:27). Occasionally, it looked like God has forsake His people, but He was going about His work the whole time. He still does, even today. We're moving toward the journey's end when eh Lord will come to make everything new.

Come Lord Jesus, Thy Kingdom come. Lord, I have prayed these words so many times, but I have hardly understood what I was praying for. I have prayed that You would come with Your help and be near me. I wanted you to help me understand, to love, and to do the right thing. But that You would come in this manner--in Your glory--and terminate all our plans and the whole world, draw the line, sum up everything, and bring everything into the light. How many of us are prepared for that? There are so many who do not seek You, Lord. Many of them are people I love very much. You know this, Lord. Is this why You wait? Lord, help us to use this time correctly. Lord, help me to remember every morning that this is the season of Advent and that I have received another day to live before you come.

--To Live With Christ, Daily Devotions by Bo Giertz, pg. 29-30