The Miracle of Christmas - Hope!

Hope is not something you gain by having a perfect life, 

it is something you gain by having a relationship with a perfect Father. 

Anonymous

These words may catch us off-guard. We may say we have hope in God, but – if we listen to our language and observe our behavior – we might come to another conclusion. Particularly at Christmas time, when our culture focuses on activity and consumerism, we should take time to ponder this question: “Who…or what…do I place my hope in?”

Our greatest hope is found in experiencing a more deeply abiding relationship with a perfect and loving Father, through his Son. This doesn’t mean that we can expect everything to be positive in our lives or that we will have a perfect life. There will be moments of dancing and joy, and there also will be pain and difficulties.

The great news…the miracle of Christmas…is that God is “Immanuel”; the God who is with us (Matthew 1:23). He is with us in the ups and downs of our journeys, always looking for ways to bring us hope.

Yet where do you and I actually place our hope: in our stuff? In our accomplishments? In our status? When we place our hope in Jesus, he helps us to loosen our grip on our circumstances and our acquisitions and achievements; on all of the things that are valued by this world…but have no lasting value in the Kingdom of God.

This season of Advent – when we celebrate the arrival of God with us – is an opportunity to re-orient our lives, so that our hope is centered on our great God and nothing else.

Christmas reminds us that we do not need to have a perfect life, we simply need to pursue our relationship with a perfect and loving Father. The only Father who can, and who will, give us what we truly need. Our loving Father’s gift of Jesus is the Christmas miracle; the miracle of God with us. God with us in our celebrations and our struggles. The miracle that gives us hope.

Are you experiencing the hope that God wants to give? Please let me pray for you as you head out into your day.

Dear Lord, the people reading this blog may be pursuing the wrong gifts, or feeling hopeless in their circumstances. Whatever the case, I pray that they will turn toward you today. Help them to grasp how wide and deep your love is for them, so that they might be filled with a fresh sense of hope. The hope that only comes from you. In your name, Jesus. Amen. 

Do you find yourself pursing the wrong source of hope? What steps can you take that will help you embrace God’s gift of hope? Please add a comment and let me know. I’d be glad to pray for you personally.