Part two - Christmas hope
I could never sleep on Christmas Eve as a child. I would lie awake HOPING I could go to sleep as fast as possible so I could wake up and open presents the next morning. But I laid awake with that hope for hours. Then, by lunchtime, it was gone. All in the past.
For a child, the hope of opening presents is overwhelming, because in our culture we place so much value on "the Christmas gift". As we get older, many of us may find that the hopefulness of presents turns more into an annoyance and an expensive inconvenience.
After these past years, we look forward, with hope, to celebrating Christmas together. No longer separated by lockdowns or distance. The hope for many is to be able to see their friends, their family, their loved ones, again, in person. In the flesh. it is a hope that can keep us awake at night, as we look forward to what is coming. But so often this hope can be washed away by circumstances like floods, sickness, or even death.
By contrast, real hope can keep us awake all night but can also help us to sleep well. Real hope, lasting hope, is knowing the good future we have in Jesus and the hope of knowing it will never be taken away.
You cannot buy this hope.
Isaiah 42:1-4
1“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,my chosen one in whom I delight;I will put my Spirit on him,and he will bring justice to the nations.2He will not shout or cry out,or raise his voice in the streets.3A bruised reed he will not break,and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;4he will not falter or be discouragedtill he establishes justice on earth.In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
The hope God offers cannot be bought. His servant, by the power of the Holy Spirit, will come in gentleness. He will not shout. He will not even break a flimsy reed. But he will bring justice. And he will bring hope in his teaching - a teaching of hope.
The servant of course is Jesus. But what is the teaching of Jesus which brings hope?
That the kingdom of God is coming. That sins are forgiven. That life is eternal and heaven is our promise.
You cannot buy this hope.
Yet this hope came at a great price.
Jesus died for this hope. Jesus died to forgive our sins. Jesus died to offer us eternal life.
Our free gift came at a great price. Our real hope came at a great price.
Prayer
Lord, Father, Saviour, thank you for this gift of hope. Thank you for paying the price to bring me this hope which is beyond measure. May I bless others today by sharing this hope with them, through all that I say and all that I do.
Amen.