The Hope of Christmas is the same as The Hope of Easter. It all rests on Jesus. Easter matters most because Christmas happened. Christmas is important because Easter happened.
As followers of Jesus, we love to celebrate His birthday. We also love to celebrate time with family and time off from work. This is the only part of the year most of us get an actual rest (sorry, retail servant workers… I know this is your hardest-working time of year!). It’s a good time to reflect on what God’s been doing and what we hope for.
What do we hope for?
Salvation.
There are things we hope for (a raise, our children to always get along, a laundry fairy to visit us, etc.), but many of those things will let us down. Hoping in Jesus for our eternal salvation will never let us down. We might not feel hopeful sometimes when we face hard times, but we can know God has a plan for us in the midst of and on the other side of those hard times.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. Romans 5:3-5
Part of the way we know this hope won’t let us down is the love we have in our hearts for our children. It might seem like separate issues to you, but it’s not.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Our abundant love for our children is an overflow of God’s love for us. So as you celebrate this Christmas, ponder the amazing, reliable hope Jesus brings this life and the next.
Merry Christmas!
Things to Ponder:
- How do you know Jesus is a reliable source of hope for you and your children?
- What can you do to have a personal praise party for Him today, showing your trust in Him?