Thursday, December 11, 2008

Dec. 12, 2008

The Hope of Christmas

Read the Bible through:
AM –
Amos 1-2 : PM – Revelation 3

Patience Affirmed
Romans 8:24-25

25 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance."

I read recently an interesting article in my morning newspaper. It raised the issue of whether or not we can be aware of things we cannot see. The writer referred to the mystery, but certainty, of the dark space between the stars.

What an appropriate description of “hope.” Like that dark space between the stars, you can’t see it, touch it, weigh it, or even describe it accurately. Yet no other aspect of human experience is more real, or more vital, than hope.

We meet hope at virtually every turn in life. Expectant parents, investors, hospital patients, sports fans, students, teachers, young men clutching engagement rings and campaigning politicians are all fortified by hope.

But the Christian’s hope is planted firmly in the soil of faith; for faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Lord, give me glimpses of realities that lie beyond my vision.