WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 
(Colossians 1: 15-18) 

Who is this "Long Expected Jesus" that we are looking toward? God had his prophets declare his coming generations before the birth in Bethlehem, promising a savior of some sort. That's a lot of expectation.

But what does Paul say of him here?

"The firstborn of all creation." And also, "by Him all things were created."

　
In his poem, "Mythopeia," J.R.R. Tolkien told the then-still-non-Christian C.S. Lewis, "We make still by the law in which we're made." In Genesis we are told that man and woman were created in the image of God, whatever that might be. Paul here says that the Christ is also the image of the invisible God, but also specifically that the Christ is the means and master of creation. So, we could say that the nature of the promised Messiah is that of a creator.

For me, as a creative person, this is familiar territory. All my life, creative endeavors have been part of the fabric of my existence. I was born into a house of music. I drew from an early age. Later, I chose writing as a craft I wanted to pursue, to perfect my abilities in it. Making things is part of the heart of myself. So for me, it is easy to grasp the holiness of Christ as this figure.

Christ is the means by which creation came into being. Anyone who has made something original understands that. This burning desire takes fire in your heart, striving to take on a form of some sort, something outside the self so that you can look at it, touch it, interact with it. The Work of Art comes into being because of the creator. But Christ is more than this, and that "more" elevates Him far above a human creator. Because Christ is also the glue that holds the pieces of the work together. Christ is the molecular bond, the atomic fusion by which the created work holds to its unity and identity. And that is something human creators cannot achieve on their own.

Human creators are dependant on "something else" to hold their work together. But Paul says the Christ does more than that. Christ holds us together, as individuals and as the church.

There's nothing too surprising about the declaration that Christ holds us together as a body. I think most Christians get used to hearing that.

But what if we consider ourselves as works of art that Christ has been making? What then? What happens to us if we think of ourselves as a thing of beauty that Christ is shaping?

Unlike us, Christ is not working with flat, soul-less materiel. Instead, He is working with "clay" that has been given desires and free-will, "clay" that resists His shaping often, because we don't understand what He is trying to make of us.

Why do we resist? Do we really think that the God of the Universe desires to make something un-lovely? Do we really think that the God of the Universe finds even the least atomic sub-particle insignificant? And we are so much more than an atomic sub-particle.

We are awaiting the coming of the master of Creation, who holds all things together.

Our God has promised us this, that He will hold us till the Christ comes. And in the coming we will be held together even more than we are now. The very fabric of our existence holds both the promise and the fulfillment of it.

That is what we look for. That is what we celebrate.