Hope is a word used carelessly. The phrase “I hope you have a good day,” escapes my lips
daily. At the time the sentiment
is sincere but quickly fades from my memory as my own life steps into the
spotlight.
The following quote is from the Encyclopedia of the Bible;
“Hope has been defined as ‘desire accompanied by expectation.’ Hope, however is
not always expectant. One may have
hope with little or no expectation.” To hope with little or no expectation at
all seems to be more of a cultural definition rather than a Biblical one. This holiday season reminds me of the
true definition of hope. His name
is Jesus and He is the hope of Christmas seen in the babe, the blood, and the
cross.
The Christmas story is familiar but what I often forget is
the reassurance given to us long before the actual birth. My favorite scripture, Jeremiah 29:11,
promises a plan and a future for our lives, one that brings hope. The coming of this hope was foretold by
Isaiah as he declares in chapter 9, verse 6, “For to us a child is born, to us
a son is given. . .” (NIV). The
proof of this prophecy comes when the King is born heralded by the heavenly
host to the shepherds and also to the Magi several years later. These shepherds were ordinary men going
about their ordinary day when
suddenly, there is an interruption. God uses the ordinary to display the extraordinary and He
humbles the extraordinary so the ordinary may be revealed. The Magi were men of privilege and
highly revered, yet they too were humbled and led by a star to an ordinary
child.
His blood promises us redemption as seen in Ephesians 1:7,
“In him we have redemption through his blood. . .” We are reconciled to himself as seen in Colossians
1:19-21. The proof comes with the
shedding of that blood and in the working of it to cleanse and to purify. An ordinary substance, common to all
man, achieves extraordinary results when shed for sinners.
We cannot have Christmas without the cross and the promise
of hope that it brings through eternal life. Hebrews 9:12 says, “He did not enter by means of the blood
of goats and calves; but he entered the most Holy Place once for all by his own
blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.” An ordinary event we are all destined for is death, yet because
of His death we can have an extraordinary eternal life.
The babe, the blood, and the cross all work together to
reveal the hope of Christmas. It
is not dead, nor does it slumber.
The first chapter of I Peter, verse 3 tells the good news, “Praise be to
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ in his great mercy h has given us
new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead.”
“Hope is the thing
with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without words and
never stops at all.” -Emily
Dickinson
