Christmas Is Hope

It’s Christmas time. The season of perpetual hope. Yet, on December 2, terrorists killed 14 Americans and wounded 17. I didn’t want to talk about the San Bernardino massacre. It’s Christmas time. But we have to face such things. They are a reality in the world in which we live.

Matt Walsh wrote an excellent blog post about the hope we have in Jesus Christ. That God has intervened, already, for such a time as this. Jesus Christ already came down to earth as a baby. Grew up. Was persecuted by the Jews and finally crucified on the cross for our sins. He rose from the dead three days later. He then ascended into heaven. Jesus already paid the price for our sins. He already made a way for us. All of us. All of us are in need of a Savior. Jesus Christ is our Savior.

In the face of such evil acts, and because it is Christmas time, we should talk about hope. Hope is wonderful. Hope gives us reasons to live when faced with life’s troubles. It lifts us up. It helps us carry on. Hope has conquered tragedies, depression, every struggle men and women face. Without hope, what’s the point?

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines hope: “to cherish a desire with anticipation.” Part of hope, is anticipation. Ever watch your kids when they are anticipating something? We used to count the kids’ anticipation with the number of sleeps. Five more sleeps before your birthday. Three more sleeps before Christmas is here. You could look in your kids’ eyes and see the glimmer there, the anticipation, the hope. Their eyes would sparkle with so much hope.

I grew up celebrating Christmas. I loved to see the presents under the tree. I couldn’t wait to open them. I remember one Christmas when we got a package from my grandmother. Both my sister and I received the same gift from her. It was a small package. We shook it. We squeezed it. It was squishy at first squeeze, but you could feel something hard underneath the squishiness. My sister and I would pick up that package everyday before Christmas to squeeze it and guess what it was. Squishy and hard-what could it be? We had days and days to wait, before we could open up those gifts. The anticipation was soooo exciting. Whatever could it be? We had no idea what that gift could be. It stumped us. Of course on Christmas morning, we zoomed over to that gift and opened it first. Oh, that’s what it was. It was this cologne bottle, with a cute animal cover over it-squishy and hard! We never could have guessed. The best part of all of that, was the anticipation. The waiting and wondering was so exciting.

Christmas time is a great way to show kids what hope truly means. The hope for certain gifts. The hope and waiting until Christmas to open the gifts. Now that I am an adult, hope isn’t an abstract idea. It’s embedded in my brain through all those past Christmases I celebrated. I still love Christmas time. I love listening to the Christmas music. I love buying gifts for my family and wrapping them. I love all the celebrations and anticipation of Christmas day. Hope is the crux of all the celebrating. It means even more to me as an adult. The anticipation of the Messiah coming to this earth. He brought hope to all of mankind. He was the Savior of the World. I still look forward to Christmas, but now it so reminds me of my Savior. The greatest event in human history, the God of this universe, the great I Am coming to dwell among men! Hallelujah.

I love “Carol of the Bells,” and all the versions of it. That song seems to represent hope over any other Christmas song. When you listen to it, you hear the song get faster and faster. You can feel anticipation in that song. Something is coming and faster and faster it goes. It’s a great refection of the hope we celebrate at Christmas time.

Jesus Christ is our hope and salvation. He IS the reason we celebrate Christmas. As we look forward to Christmas, I have a sense of anticipation for the coming Messiah again. I hope for Him to come and take His children home. I long for it. Christmas only inspires me more as I anticipate Christ’s return. And oh how great it will be! Way better than a cologne bottle with a cute animal cover over it. Way, way better.