A Thrill of Hope!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as
One of the most loved
Christmas hymns of praise which tell of Jesus’ birth is “O Holy Night.” This
song reminds us that part of the purpose behind Jesus’ birth was to offer the
hope that the world needs. This hope is still yearned for and desired by many
people around the world.
“A
thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For
yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
With
Jesus’ birth there is hope for our weary hurting world and it may be found in
the baby who comes and rests in a manger. This same baby also died and rested
in a tomb only to rise again and give to us the gift of new life. But are we
willing to look to this baby with hope?
When
Jesus was born the world of the holy land was not hope filled. It was under
Roman rule and every lone lived under the established religion of the time.
There was a cynicism because the people had hoped for someone to change the
ruling people but this did not happen. Yet Jesus came as an infant and was born
in Bethlehem, a small sleepy town where nothing exciting seemed to occur. It
was not the centre of the established nation, nor was it a spectacular village.
It was a nice community where Joseph’s family had lived in years past. In order
to fulfil Roman law, Joseph took his betrothed Mary to register for the census
back to the community of his family. But the town was busy with the details of
this registration process and the innkeepers were kept busy. When it was time
for sleep, Joseph pleaded with an innkeeper for a safe warm place for his wife.
And sure enough, she gave birth that night. Nothing too odd about having a baby
in a barn because of a shortage of beds. Yet the ordinary resident of the
community would not know what had happened. Unless they had heard the angels
and saw shepherds running to the stable. Yet in that manger bed was hope
personified in an infant. Hope for a bright future, for the forgiveness of sins
and for God to be present always.
Do you
have this hope in you? Jesus came to give you something better than the
disappointments of life. When you receive him as Saviour you can have a hope
that is no longer iffy, but truly confident for what your future may bring.
Where is your hope as we draw closer to celebrating Jesus’ birth?
PRAYER
from Romans 15:13
I pray that God the source of hope will fill you/ me
completely with joy and peace because you/I trust in him. Then you will
overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
May the God of hope go with you every day! Amen.
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