The Gifts Of Christmas: Hope Series

The Gifts of Christmas: Hope

Scott Bayles, adapted from Outreach

Blooming Grove Christian Church

Christmas is a time of giving. And that means Christmas is a time of shopping. Ever since the wise men from the east showed up at the stable carrying gold, frankincense, and myrrh, people have been exchanging gifts at Christmas.

Of course, it’s much more complicated today than it was for the wise men. For one thing, they didn’t have to contend with shopping malls, all packed full of parents going from store to store to store, desperately searching for a Nintendo Classic or a Hatchimal. The magi didn’t have to worry about sizes, or colors, or return policies. There were no robot dogs in those days, no Star Wars Legos, and definitely no flying drones with streaming video. Just plain old gold, frankincense and myrrh.

I’m reminded of three small boys who were in a Christmas play at church. They played the three wise men and they were to give their gifts to baby Jesus. The first boy stepped forward, held out the gift in his hands and said, “Gold.” The second boy stepped forward, held out his gift and said, “Myrrh.” The third boy stepped forward, held out his gift and said, “Frank sent this.”

Well, this year, just like every year, millions of people, both children and adults, will open millions of gifts. Some won’t fit. Some will be the wrong color. Many will be returned or exchanged. But there’s one gift that meets everyone’s need, one gift that will never wear out, never break or need repairing. A gift that is appropriate for a small child, or a teenager, or an adult, or a senior citizen. Boy or girl, man or woman, it makes no difference. The gift we all need, the most valuable gift of all, is that baby in the manger—the one that this whole season is about. On Christmas, we celebrate the fact that God gave us the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ.

While Jesus himself is the greatest gift of all he also brings with him additional gifts each Christmas season. Over the next four weeks, I want to invite you to unwrap the gifts of Christmas as we journey through the season. It is our chance to listen to the stories, to remember the true meaning of Christmas, to wait in expectation for the arrival of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. The point is not to get rid of the trappings and traditions and celebrations all around us but to take a purposeful journey through them to more deeply experience the gifts of Christmas: hope, love, peace, and joy.

As we unwrap each gift of Christmas over the next few weeks, my prayer is that we discover together that we can trust in Immanuel, God with us. He is bigger than our greatest expectations or our deepest pains. His light shines in the darkness and bids us to draw near. As we do, we discover and realize the gifts He brings—but more so, we discover Him.

The first gift we’re going to unwrap this December is the gift of hope.

We talk a lot about hope.

We hope the weather will be good for our family vacation. We hope that our favorite team will win the Super Bowl—or at least make it to the big game! We hope that we get just what we want for Christmas.

But for many of us, hope lacks a sense of certainty. We hope for things that may or may not happen. It is more like a wish—something that we want to happen but have no way of knowing that it ultimately will. So we keep our fingers crossed and “hope” that everything will go the way we want it to.

The reality is that often life doesn’t turn out the way we hoped it would. Hope is a fragile commodity. When life is disappointing, our optimism is replaced by feelings of discouragement and hopelessness. Before long we run the risk of becoming cynics who believe that there is nothing in which we can confidently hope.

I’m reminded of a boy wrote to Santa Claus, saying, “Dear Santa, you did not bring me anything good last year. You did not bring me anything good the year before that. This is your last chance. Signed, Alfred.” Now there is a little boy who has just about lost hope.

Thankfully, Christmas brings with it the gift of hope. In Jesus, hope is a guarantee, a sure thing. Our hope is actually a “know-so” rather than a “maybe-so.” Let’s unwrap this gift of hope by looking at three types or stages of hope as we journey toward Christmas. The first is past hope.

• PAST HOPE

What is the longest you’ve waited for something? Is there anything you’ve been waiting for your entire life? The people of Israel knew all about waiting. Their entire history was marked by waiting as they looked forward to the coming of a Messiah who would set them free. The Old Testament is full of prophecies about this Messiah. For example, the Bible says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 NIV).