“We wait in HOPE for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”
Psalm 33:20
So often, it seems the most obvious hopes I feel, or those I see in others at Christmas, are focused just a little too small. We HOPE for homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. We HOPE that the thing we wanted most will be under the tree. We HOPE that the weather will cooperate with our travel plans. As I look through the hopes of those we hear from in the story of Jesus’ birth, though, I see something so much bigger- something God-sized. In each person, I hear the undercurrents of a long-held HOPE that someone will be sent by God for His people to repair what has been broken and to fulfill all that He had promised to His people through Him. Mary is told that her Son will be great, the Son of the Most High, and someone who will reign on David’s throne forever. She sings in praise and adoration for what He is doing through her and her Son. Elizabeth knows immediately of the impending birth of her Lord. The shepherds are not confused by what the angels tell them. No, they jumped into action to go see this Savior, Messiah, and Lord. Simeon, too, had been waiting and hoping to see the Lord’s Messiah, knowing that He would bring salvation for all the nations and would be a light for both the Gentiles and Jews. This was something that had been foretold and retold from one generation to the next, so much so that for these followers of God, Jesus was not the birth of HOPE but a fulfillment of a deep HOPE ingrained in their hearts and minds. Jesus’ birth was the revelation of God’s love and faithfulness to his followers, a promise kept to heal each of them—and each of us.
In the midst of the season of the celebration of Jesus' birth, may we not lose sight of the God-sized plan that is still unfolding even today, as God, through Jesus, continues to work to reconcile us back into a relationship with Him. Look for ways to share His love, faithfulness, and light with others to celebrate and praise Jesus this Advent season.
Angela Atkins
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