Have you ever thought about the feeling you get when you’re nearly at the place you’re aiming for? Perhaps you’re running a race and you look ahead to the finish line within reach. “I’m nearly there,” you tell yourself as you continue on. You’re motivated to get a better time, first prize, or the accomplishment of completing the race at all.
Maybe it’s not a race, but the anticipation of getting to your holiday destination. It’s been on the calendar for ages. Now you’re packed, on your way, and ever closer to a few days of rest and enjoyment. “Nearly there!” you exclaim excitedly.
If you have been away somewhere, there is always that sense of returning home to what you left behind. It could be a welcoming sigh of relief: “Ah, nearly there,” as you’re close to home. Or maybe it’s tinged with sadness at the reality that waits for you when you come through the door. “Nearly home,” you sigh.
Dark nights, bright lights
This post came from a ‘nearly there’ feeling.
Walking alone at night, my pace quickens. Thoughts fed from the news, stories, films and more seem to activate my imagination more than I care to admit. The street lights give some reassurance, but shadows and figures get the better of me. “Nearly there”, I reassure myself as I get closer to my destination.
Seeing the lights on in the windows of where I am supposed to be are like a beacon of comfort. The light shines into the dark thoughts and fears I quietly imagine. They are slowly dispelled. The relief of coming in from the dark and the cold into the warmth and light is a signpost. It’s a glimpse of what we all need. A bright light in the darkness like headlights on full beam.
Are we there yet?
All those ‘nearly there’ feelings point to a destination. We all have a final destination. Whilst we are journeying through life, we are always ‘nearly there’ when it comes to death. We are born into a world where we are destined to die. It seems so bleak. Pointless. It is dark. Like the darkest night with no light at the end of the road. An accident waiting to happen.
But we have a feeling that there must be more. We long for a place of permanence and security. A homecoming. A warm welcome. A place at the table. The good news is that ‘nearly there’ was only ever meant to point to ‘nearly home’. Home where there is always a Father who runs to greet you and wraps His arms around you. A home where a place has been prepared for you. A home where the Light is permanent and never goes out.
Jesus is the door held open. Jesus is the Light of the world. Into the darkest world He came as a baby. He left heaven to bring us home to Himself. The true light is already shining. Darkness will pass away, but His words will never pass away. Jesus doesn’t leave you in the dark with a few lamp posts as you console yourself with ‘nearly there’. He fully and completely enters into your darkness because He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Darkness is as light to Him.
Countdown to Christmas
As the countdown to Christmas begins, and we start to think “Nearly there” once more, let us look to Jesus Christ. Advent candles burn down. Calendar chocolates get eaten. Decorations get boxed up for another year. Presents get unwrapped and placed to one side. But Jesus Christ is always Lord. He is always present. If you think there is more to Christmas and more to life than what you are currently experiencing, come to Jesus.
Jesus had always planned to come into our world as a baby, to become like us in our humanity. His birth was overshadowed by death from the beginning when King Herod wanted him dead. But sin, death and evil have been trampled underfoot. He took our sin upon His shoulders at the cross.
We have a light in the darkness through Christ alone. His death on the cross and His resurrection made a way in the darkest night. We can have life everlasting in Him. He will return, and Advent reminds us that we patiently and expectantly wait for His glorious coming. We have a place to run to, a refuge to hide in, a love to soak ourselves in. Come to Jesus. He came for you.
This season is a beautiful reminder for Christians. The ‘nearly there’ we need to grasp is one day we will be with Him forever.
We are nearly home.
Ruth Clemence – Writer and Blogger 