I needed some WD-40 the other day and stopped in at Walmart.
The store was filled with the look of Christmas: wrapping paper in all kinds of colors; Christmas wreaths for any door; ornaments galore; Santa Claus pajamas; socks that light up and sing. I even saw a roll of bathroom tissue with reindeer stamped all over it. Christmas has definitely arrived with all its splendor and busyness, hustling and bustling.
Did Mary and Joseph know, that night, what His birth would bring to this world?
When I returned to my car, the radio station I enjoy listening to filled the car with music, “O Holy Night.” And I joined in singing the familiar lyrics, savoring the sound, and thinking about what I just witnessed.
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…”
The greatest virtues faith, hope, and love according to 1 Corinthians 13:13, give us the knowledge that when we have the faith, God delivers the hope, which demonstrates the love.
Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Have you ever mumbled under your breath, “I just can’t get my hopes up this time” ? We’ve all felt it. We don’t want to wish for something that won’t happen. It is a human emotion we’ve all dealt with at some point in our lives. Disappointment is not something we want to experience.
But Christmas is all about just that – HOPE. Hope wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Hope that was born in Bethlehem one night. Hope that lived in the womb of a virgin girl. Hope that came to deliver a weary world and deliver a new and glorious morn.
One of the greatest gifts of the birth of Christ is hope. Whether you want it or not, Christ brought to a hopeless world the opportunity of hope. The chance to either live in eternity with Him or have an eternity of damnation. He brought light to darkness. And while we may walk around thinking we can’t hope, it comes whether we want it to or not – as a thrill to a world lost in sin.
This Christmas Season unwrap the splendor of Hope in your life.
Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
