December 5, 2013 by Erin

A Light and a Promise

…according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:9-10, ESV)

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (Jeremiah 33:14-15, ESV)

I love the Hebrew word mishpat. It’s often translated “justice” (as in the Jeremiah verse above), but its meaning is so much richer than its English equivalent. In short, mishpat refers to the order of life as God intended it. Mishpat is when everything is as it should be—whole, complete, good.

Every person on earth longs for mishpat, for order, for life as we somehow know it was supposed to be. But we know all too well that everything is not as it should be. Our bodies and our spirits are broken, tragedy and loss meet us on every side, darkness and death prevail. And yet, in the midst of such great darkness, there is a Light—a promise.

Even before our first parents fell, God had a plan to restore everything. He had a plan, when the time was just right, to send his Son, the Righteous Branch, Jesus. Jeremiah tells us he will bring about mishpat, and Ephesians says he will bring everything back together.

Just think of what that means. Imagine life without pain, without fear, without loneliness. A world with no orphans, no slavery, no war, no hunger, no typhoons or tornadoes. Don’t we all ache for that? Just for a moment, feel the weight of that longing.

That longing is what Advent is all about.

During Advent, we remember a promise made long ago, a plan to break through the darkness with un-coverable light. And we remember a God who keeps his word. A Light has come, and even now he’s at work making all things new. Restoration has begun, and one day he will come again to bring everything to completion. We have a sure hope; our longings will not be unmet.

During this season of waiting, consider God’s promise to restore mishpat, even in the smallest details of your life. And put your hope in a God who always comes through on his promises.