Jesus is the living 'hope'

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"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

- Romans 8:31 (NIV)

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What presents are we hoping to unwrap this Christmas Day morning? It’s a simple question for us to answer, isn’t it? After all, don’t we all want something that will be in harmony with this time of celebration and leave us excited and joyful? That present in any ‘normal’ year would be as individual as our dreams. Things, however, are far from normal and for many this Christmas is unlikely to be a cause for celebration but rather a time for consolation at the loss of a loved one. The darkness of illness and death has left us during 2020 not knowing when, or indeed if, things will ‘get back to normal’. However, at the time of writing, with the increasing likelihood of mass vaccinations being rolled out across the world, it appears that in 2021 we will quite literally, be able to breathe a lot easier.

During the festive season, it is our custom to wish each other a ‘happy new year’. But by its very nature, that is hopeful thinking. It’s almost like crossing fingers and sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for our number to come up on the lottery. We cannot guarantee things will turn out the way we want. Even with the new medicines, there are still questions to be answered about how effective they will be for all age groups and some, despite assurances to the contrary, are suspicious of what the long-term consequences of taking them will be. Fortunately, in our search for the security of certainty to all our questions in life, there is a place where we can go.

The word ‘hope’ in the Bible is based on the arrival of a baby born in a stable … a coming Messiah who came to save mankind from the evil of his waywardness and selfishness. The resurrection means He is alive and is present with us in our grief, vulnerability and fear. He is with us because we, as His children, don’t have the answers and for much of this year we have had our backs firmly pinned against the wall with only wartime a greater challenge. However, during this year, as in all years, we still have the dependency of the shining ‘hope’ we place in Christ, and that hope is way beyond our conventional understanding of what the word means. For biblical hope read trust, and trust read faith and faith read reassurance. Scripture is saturated with hope because as 2 Timothy 2: 16 reminds us, it is the inspiration from God and He does not fail us. With Christ in our hearts, there is no finger crossing.

In Him, we are assured that good defeats evil, light sweeps away the darkness, health will be restored to our suffering world and spring will follow the darkest of winters. When we look for certainty, we find it in the love of Christ. ‘If God is with us (and He is) who is against us?’, Paul said to the believers in Rome. And that truth is everlasting. Christ’s love overcomes wars, natural disasters, man’s selfishness - and a worldwide disease. Christ has been in the hearts of all those who have strived to provide an antidote to Coronavirus.

So this year doesn’t it look like their work of producing a medicine in a vial will be the best present we receive this Christmas? Well, not quite, because it is the ‘hope’ found in Jesus that is the greatest gift mankind receives. His ‘hope’ is the medicine for all ills and times of trouble. No matter how bleak our circumstances may be and the challenges we face, our hope – in other words our trust in Him - steers us through the storm. He never leaves us. 2020 is the living proof that our lives are found on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. Trust in His name. Rest in His unfailing grace.

This Advent, more than ever, we can rest in His peace and reflect on that.

Mike