No longer do I need to get the tree ready for Santa, no longer do I have small excited children to dress for church and try to settle into bed, no longer do I see 2am on the clock and wonder when I will go to bed....the children are grown and it seems hard to believe it went by so quickly...and so I sit here quietly reflecting on the Christmas of the past and look toward the Christmas of the future.
I will admit that this is not how I pictured Christmas eve, I miss the family and the chaos...but I relish in the ability to quietly reflect on why we celebrate, on the hope that is Christmas, the gift that so many miss. I re-read the Christmas story and am reminded that before Jesus came, God seemed distant...accessible only to the high priest. His people doubted their salvation as they worried about the sacrifices they made...were they enough, would God be pleased?
And then Christ was born, fulfilling the the prophecy of Isaiah... born to a frightened young mother far from home....his life in danger before it started...so much more than a simple birth in a stable...
And I am reminded that Christ is hope—to the person out of work, to the person suffering depression, to the struggling single mother, to the dying believer...no matter what you are facing as you push through the life's disappointments, if you have Jesus, you have hope.... not a false hope, a real hope. When Christ died and rose, our hope in him became solid and it is real.
Christmas is a renewal of that hope. It reconfirms it for us that regardless of our circumstance, Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of our hope. God settled it for us long ago, we need not doubt...only remember that we always have hope.
For unto us a child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
No comments:
Post a Comment