…it’s one of the words often seen as part of Christmas decorations or on Christmas cards, and its because the true message of Christmas brings true HOPE and we should never lose sight of it.
The World needs it more than anything.
Recently it was reported that Michelle Obama was interviewed by Oprah and she expressed her thought that she felt that under her husband’s administration there was ‘hope’ and that this was evident by the fact that she believes there is now a lack of ‘hope’. She went on to say:
"Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept…."I mean, he and I and so many believe what else do you have if you don't have hope?"What do you give your kids if you can't give them hope?”…...Hey, it's gonna be OK. Let's remember the good things that we have. Let's look at the future. Let's look at all the things that we're building'."
"All of this is important for our kids to stay focused and to feel like their work isn't in vain, that their lives aren't in vain,”
How sad!
But this is a reflection of how people understand hope.
The hope they seek is based on what they see. Mrs Obama wants people to ‘look’ at the good things we have, what we are building and what we think the future is going to be.
Unfortunately, much of the reason people don’t have hope is because of what they see.
And when we start building hope only in what we see, in what we do, and what we have and what we think lies ahead, we are building false hope on unstable sinking sand.
You see when we are brutally honest with ourselves we know we are not the biggest and most powerful force on the planet. An accident, bad health, terrorism or the evil of others, and our own foolishness or inadequacy can wipe out or prevent what we put our hope in. Deep down, apart from God, we know our lives and efforts are all in vain….just have heart-to-heart counsel with a few people and read the book of Ecclesiates.
We are fearful because we have lost hope in what we see and have no hope beyond our human existence with its limitations and risks and even our smallness in the face of natural disasters. We know we are not all-powerful, and when life looks ‘uncertain’ to any degree to our own eyes, we lose hope.
Just finding ways to instill greater hope in ourselves and our world doesn’t ultimately build hope - its destroys hope….because it excludes the only ONE who can bring a sure hope to us. To tell ourselves over and over that we determine our own destiny, or that we can do anything, or that we are in control, and even that we can instil hope in others, is to set ourselves up for a fall!
photo credit: CreativeCommons2.0
BUT, in the midst of reminders that what we do see is not secure, Jesus brings hope for what we don’t see.
When He came into this world, he didn’t come to encourage hope for this world, but to bring hope despite this world and beyond this world. The Jews, like the Obamas, and so many like them, were/are looking for a change in politics, circumstances, education, health cover, and laws to bring hope. The Jews wanted Jesus to change their circumstances and be a new earthly ruler to conquor their enemies.
But Jesus came to be an eternal ruler to conquor the greatest enemy - sin and death.
People in our world are looking for hope through rescue from their earthly fears and concerns, - through better circumstances as they understand it.
But the message of Christmas is that the hope promoted by the Obamas is an empty and false hope and will ultimately dissapoint in this life, and destory, bringing death in the ‘life' to come. It doesn’t matter which human being or which human ability or which human achievement we put hope in, it is not a secure or sure hope. It will not only be empty of all it promised but it will bring the opposite of all it promised. It will bring heartache and turmoil and despair, because at some point it will fail us.
But Jesus is the one in whom we can have true hope - He brings answers and enabling and joy and peace to this life and brings the true and sure hope of victory over death. He brings eternal hope.
I started this post by saying how sad it is that this world is only looking to itself for hope.
But I want to finish with how glad I am that this world is verbalising that it is looking to itself, and that at this Christmas time, we can agree that it is hopeless if we only look at this world. To tell ourselves something is hopeful when it is hopeless is foolish and destructive, because God says a ‘fool has said in his heart there is no God’. When we only look to this world for hope, we are functioning as if there is no God.
Recognising the hopelessness of what can never truly offer us hope anyhow, is actually a good start on the road to discovering there is true hope on offer - from the ONE who is not only bigger and more powerful and in control of what we aren’t, but He is our Creator and loves us and wants the best for us……
And then the good news is that God has not ceased to exist or care just because we have rejected or ignored Him…..that is why He sent Jesus, to be and bring THE hope which we had lost sight of. He reminds us this world is not that which will give us hope, and it was never meant to be.
God alone, in Jesus - Immanuel, God with us, brings true hope.
Don’t settle for the false.
And this Christmas, share this truth with the world!….and REJOICE in the wonderful HOPE we have!
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