“‘Well,” said Pooh, ‘what I like best,’ and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.” ― A. A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
That moment is called…
Anticipation: the action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction.
Think of expectations leading to Christmas Day.
· Boxes wrapped in colorful paper, filled with who knows what.
· Fresh sheets on the guest bed, ready for out-of-town company.
· Scent of homemade cookies in the oven, tempting taste buds.
· Family traditions and memories waiting to happen.
· Children, longing for that special toy, unable to sleep
Could it be that ….
“Anticipation is sometimes more exciting than actual events.” ― Ana Monnar
Perhaps, unless those events surrounded Jesus’ birth.
Imagine people’s anticipation who grew up hearing the prophecies/predictions of a coming Messiah.
And then Immanuel, “God with us,” stepped into their lives, exceeding expectations.
· 
Mary expected to deliver a baby boy, who was no ordinary child. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”
· Joseph expected the angel of the Lord’s prediction to come true, and named the baby “Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins.”
Shepherds heard the good news. “A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord….So they hurried off (with anticipation) to find the baby lying in the manger (exactly like the angel predicted) and they were amazed.”
Magi from the east traveled with gifts to see the Christ Child. And when they found him, “they were overjoyed, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”
Today …
· Christ is exalted, seated at the right hand of God, the Father.
· Good news is preached.
· People are saved from their sins.
· Believers worship Jesus, the risen Savior.
Only now, there’s another event that Christians anticipate.
Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)
Confident God’s Word is true,
“We eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:21)
And yet, a moment just before we behold Jesus face-to-face, will not be better than being in His presence ….
Because Christ will exceed even our greatest expectations!
Even In This 