Insta-Advent

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils.

Isaiah 9:2-3

Christmas is the time of year I look forward to the most. Friends and family coming together, great food, and—the reason for the season--coming together for worship in celebrating the birth of Christ. Inspired to write about this wonderful time, yet simultaneously struggling with creativity, I turned to the most novel solution—scrolling social media. If celebrating the birth of my Savior is so important to me, why would I be uninspired to share the true significance of Christmas?

I spent a few minutes searching the word “advent” on Instagram, X, and TikTok. To my dismay, rather than stumbling across motivating Christian graphics or videos, I was reminded of the season’s commercialism with ads for expensive calendars, gift ideas, and credit card offers. When the world of social media let me down, I realized—that is the point.

After banishment from Eden, humankind became a mess-- rebelling and separating themselves from God, being punished for sin, and completely unable to achieve holiness on our own. When the world was desperate for a hero, God provided hope in sending Jesus—who never sinned and did not deserve death—to save us from hell by trusting in Him.

This light and this promise is still true today! The world and all of social media’s solutions will forever let us down. They do not fulfill us nor make us whole. Yet when we follow Jesus, our Messiah, we cannot help but rejoice!

Taylor Newton