For many, this time of year is difficult. They dread gift-giving because they are already in debt, a debt that is daily robbing them of the enjoyment of what they have already obtained. They live paycheck to paycheck praying their job will last and hoping to have enough left over to buy gifts for their children. Others will spend their first Christmas without a loved one who used to fill the room with laughter. They will push through because they don’t have a choice. Others are depending on them to continue certain traditions, so they put on a smile as if nothing has happened. Yet in their heart, they would rather curl up in a ball, in some out-of-the-way corner, and cry or sleep the day away. Some sit alone in a nursing home because they have no family to care for them. No one seems to notice they even exist. Hope to them is just a word.
How can we as Christians deal with situations like this, or help others who are suffering? We share the hope of Christmas. You see we have a God who is personal. He’s not a statue or some unconcerned God waiting for us to serve him or zap us when we fail. He is now and forevermore, Immanuel- God with us! If you are not a Christian that will just be words to you, but if you are a Christian it is life and hope for the future. No other God offers himself to come and live within His followers.
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
In Matthew, we see that Joseph had just been given an account of the miraculous conception of Jesus. The angel declared to him, that the baby Mary was carrying was placed inside of Mary by the Holy Spirit, and God was his Father. This baby would be 100% man and 100% God. Therefore, at His birth, he would be “God with us.” Immanuel is the hope of Christmas! Being the Godman qualifies him to be the redemption for the world. This plan offers hope for the future no matter what we face on this earth.
Philippians 2:6-8 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
It is God in me that gives me peace when all the world around me is spinning out of control. Knowing that he is who he says he is, allows me to believe His words for the future. He was born, lived a sinless life, felt every pain and sorrow that I could ever feel, died for sins he did not commit, gave proof that he was God by having power over death and the grave, and then ascended back to sit at the right hand of the Father where He is interceding for me. Did you get that? FOR ME!!!
Romans 8:34 “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.”
He is there to offer comfort to all the sorrows of this world. Peace in confusion, and HOPE! Hope for a perfect life. A life that is sinless where there will be no more sorrow. Hope for a reunion with my loved ones that are already there. A hope that is not just a desire or wish, but a hope that is secure, because of the one who grants it. Hope accomplishes for the soul, the same thing which an anchor does for a ship. It makes it fast and secure.
Hebrews 6:19a “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast”
Celebrate this season with everything in you, and pass it on by demonstrating the hope of Christ, by showing His love. No one can take Christ away from you, except yourself. You may be lonely, but you are not alone. He is with you and in you. You may have pain, but He feels for you. You may have nothing materially, but with Him you have everything. Our high priest is not cold and heartless, but He sympathizes with us. He experienced separation from his loved one, the Father, He experienced rejection, He experienced brutal pain, and He experienced loneliness. Therefore, He is qualified to understand and sympathize with us.
Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Keep your eyes focused upward and celebrate all that you have in him. You can choose to wallow in your sorrow, or you can choose to be grateful. Do you choose, despair or hope?
For me, there is no other option, but to place my faith in him, and look to the future. I love the life that God has given me, but you can’t get better than Heaven. Celebrate the HOPE!
