Written by Caitlin Closs

As a first year teacher I feel like I am constantly in a state of preparation.  Preparing lessons, notes, worksheets, tests, quizzes… and the list continues as soon as one thing is accomplished there are 3 new things to prepare for.

It seems the world demands a constant state of preparation.  There is no time for stillness, pause, or even a breath.  We are bombarded with:

are you ready?

what else should I do?

what’s next?

 So are we in a constant state of spiritual preparation for the birth of the Lord?

 are you ready for Jesus to return?

what else should I do to show others the light of Christ?

what is God calling me to do next?

 I look at this list and think to myself as much as I prepare for school, life, and the coming of Christ will it ever be enough?  And I get that overwhelming feeling that I’m forever stuck in this state of preparation.

But I find peace when I think back to what it must have been like as the people of Israel were waiting and preparing for the coming of the Messiah and how the preparation goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.  Since the beginning God has been preparing the people for the coming of Jesus.

While serving in children’s ministry this fall I’ve been teaching and re-learning the stories of Genesis though a child’s perspective, it’s been both exciting and refreshing!  Beginning in Genesis and throughout the Old Testament God uses stories to foreshadow the Gospel.  It’s been so encouraging to see the evidence that God started the state of preparation from the beginning and that if we lean on him we can only grow in our ability to prepare spiritually and otherwise.

In this constant time of preparation I challenge you to reread one of the stories in Genesis and meditate on it.  Take time to pause and be still and consider how God started to reveal the Gospel in preparation for the coming of the Messiah!