Tough Hope

By: Andy Ferguson

 “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”Isaiah 9.6, 7

Most people are drawn to babies. I am drawn to babies. This passage from Isaiah speaks of a newborn king, a male child. It doesn’t matter; we are deeply touched by a birth whether a baby girl or boy.

So, what does a newborn baby stir in us? There is something in the human DNA that prepares us to welcome and protect a newborn child. In addition, there is a spiritual dimension to the coming of a child, too. The birth of a baby, even in the grimmest times, stirs up hope. I would even say that the hope a baby calls up in us is a tough hope – refusing to be discouraged by the world’s circumstances or any limits their home might impose.

In the long-ago days Herod was a tyrant over Israel. When Jesus was born, darkness smothered the land. It smothered lives and communities and the futures of all in Israel. People looked around and saw no possible relief from the awful oppression. Still, the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds that dark night with a message of hope. God is moving! God’s intention is your future. “A child has been born for us…”

This Christmas, there seem to be worries at every turn. The coming of the Christ is our hope. In Christ, God is presenting our future. In Christ, the final word on our lives and every life is the one which God speaks. And this is God’s gift of hope this Christmas.

Prayer

Lord, let me wait expectantly with the Christmas shepherds in the darkness – wait for the coming of Your hope. Amen