Hope In The Darkness Series

“The LORD God said to the serpent,

‘Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and above all beasts of the field;

on your belly you shall go,

and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.’” [1]

God’s curse pronounced upon the serpent is a strange study for an Advent message. I confess that this is a first for me in my service before the Lord God, a service now extending over a period exceeding fifty-three years. We are so accustomed to think of Christmas as a season of joy, a time of gaiety and anticipation, that it is difficult for us to allow ourselves to dwell on any thought that would normally be characterised as negative. We don’t want to spoil the holiday atmosphere.

We know that the Christmas season can be extremely difficult for many people. Because we are trained to think of the season as a time for family, as a time to renew or to strengthen friendships, as a time for raucous parties, it is easy to forget that for those who are excluded from such activities—often excluded through no fault of their own—Christmas can be a time of intense loneliness, a time that creates a sense of deep loss.

We who are appointed to shepherd the Lord’s flocks aren’t given the luxury of shoving negative thoughts aside, ignoring such dark thoughts as though they don’t exist. What the world denotes as “negative” is forced upon God’s spokesman week-by-week. The sorrow of God’s people becomes our sorrow as we seek to fulfil the injunction delivered by the Apostle Paul, who commands us as followers of the Risen Lord, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” [ROMANS 12:15]. And each time we approach the message of the Incarnation, the reason for the birth of God’s own Son is again forced to the forefront of our consciousness. God’s Son came to provide His life as a sacrifice for sinful people. And that truth must never be relegated to the dim recesses of distant memory. Remember that Jesus testified, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” [MATTHEW 20:28].

Suffering does exist, and we who know the Master are not exempt from the sorrows that afflict all mankind. So long as we are in this body, we will know what it is to weep, to experience the pain of parting as loved ones leave this life, to know the attacks from those we imagined were our friends, and to know what it is to feel deserted even by those we have loved.

But, thanks be to our Saviour, we are given the promise written in the Apocalypse: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” [REVELATION 21:1-4].

I will pause at this point to acknowledge that I read this passage at the interment of almost every follower of the Living Saviour. I endeavour to comfort those who grieve now by urging them to remember that our Master has given us a comforting word so that we are not left alone without hope. I do not wish the people of God to be consumed with a sense of deep sorrow when their loved ones are taken, and the body is consigned to the grave. I want our people always to look beyond this moment to see what our Saviour has provided for us, and that we shall be reunited with our fellow saints. Amen.

I would not want anyone to imagine that I’m attempting to create some fantasy that permits people to escape the pain of living in this world, but I would encourage all who hear me to look to Christ as the Master over life. He does provide joy and hope for all who know Him and who walk with Him, but He does not keep us from experiencing the trials of life that touch all people. Christ our Lord does, however, provide us with the strength to withstand every test we may face. And He promises that He will always be with us as we pass through the trials that come into our lives.