As we enter the Christmas Season, this month we are looking at hope. Now, to some, that may seem like a strange topic for Christmas, but we will learn from where our hope comes, Who is our hope, and IN Whom we place our hope. Our Scripture today is Romans 8:24-25, “Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” (CSB)
There is a worldly hope that is uncertain and then there is a Christian hope that is filled with promise and certainty. Worldly hope defined in Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true : to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment, to expect with confidence : TRUST” We can hope that something will come to pass, but we are not certain that it will, that is worldly hope.
Christian hope is knowing without a shadow of a doubt that what God has promised, He WILL fulfill! My sister and I were talking yesterday, and she was telling me that her pastor’s message last week was on hope. She told me that she was speaking to a friend of hers, and her friend said, “What kind of a Christmas message is that? Hope?” My sister explained to her that Jesus IS our hope, He is our source of hope! Hope is at the basis of the Christmas message! Our Scripture says that we are saved in this hope. Jesus came to the earth as a baby in a manger to live a life as a man that was blameless. The Bible says He didn’t sin, or He knew no sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21) He was the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He was born to die! Three days later He rose from the grave to give us the hope of living with Him for eternity. He conquered sin, death, and the grave and that gives us a confident hope that we will live eternally with Him.
The Apostle Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:3-9 that because of God’s mercy upon us, we have been given “a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” (CSB) and that we are guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that will be revealed in the last days. Peter says we rejoice because of this even though we go through trials which will test our faith like gold being tested in the fire, so that Jesus will be glorified and we give honor and glory to Him, and that even though we don’t see Him now, we rejoice because we are receiving “the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (CSB)
This is our hope! We know for a certain fact that we have been saved when we accept Jesus as our Lord, Savior, and Master. We know we will see Him in Heaven, and we have the assurance of living and reigning with Him for eternity. That is our certainty, that is our hope!
As we celebrate this Christmas, let us look expectantly to the manger, the Cross and the grave, the resurrection, and a glorious eternity in Heaven with our Hope, Jesus Christ!
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