I'm getting rather tired of me. I grow weary of the same temptations, the same struggles, the same excuses. I ask the man in the mirror, "Is this really the best you can do?" I'm not convinced by his answers.
I hate the pain and suffering in this world. I hate the evil that men do. But I'm most tempted to despair over the evil that I do.
Let me tell you about "Bill." If you know Bill, he's the best guy you know. He's honest, generous, and hardworking. He helps everyone, even people he doesn't particularly like. If you're lucky enough to have him as your neighbor, he's the best neighbor ever. Bill's a better person than most of the "church people" he knows. Because of that, he has no interest in the gospel. He doesn't need Jesus. Christians have taught him that.
I managed to grow up basically untouched by the problem of evil. Whether I was blessed or just blinkered may be up for debate, but even into my young adulthood, pain and suffering was something that, in my experience, mostly just happened as you got old.
That illusion was ripped apart one day.
Every year more and more of my neighbors have their Christmas decorations up on November 1. I understand the impulse. The older I get, the more this fallen world wears on me, the more I look forward to the hope and joy of the Christmas season. But every year we also hear more people complain about the struggle to "get in the Christmas spirit" or to "keep the Christ in Christmas." I'm becoming increasingly convinced that the best way to get the most out of Christmas, to get into the spirit of Christmas, and to keep Christ in Christmas can be summed up in one word: Advent.
This may have escaped your notice, but we live in world full of pain and suffering, turmoil and fear. Anxiety is the default mode for a lot of people. The rich, famous, and beautiful aren't sheltered from it by their wealth, so what hope to the rest of us have?
I want to tell you about a book that offers a compelling answer to that question. It's "a book about joy" written "to help you experience life to the fullest."
