HOPE HAS COME

Misery makes no distinctions. It truly loves company. The soul of a man can be nothing but miserable without the peace that seems so elusive. The mere thought of peace can create a yearning deep within a man. An intense desire for something to soothe the heart's rumblings creates a frenzy of activity in his life. Filling the void can be quite a daunting task. It can consume every moment and waste a lifetime. Waste. Now there's a word. This word can sum up a moment or a complete lifetime. To waste something is to throw it away. Gain nothing from it. Spend time and energy only to see it vanish. Like sand falling through your fingers, all the things that seem so tangible and obtainable, suddenly are gone, leaving only a gritty reminder of futility. The apostle Paul spoke of this when he said "If I had hope only in this life, I'd be among men most miserable".

We measure worth on a scale of treasures. Our children are a treasure and the moments we spend with them go by so quick. They are gone even before they begin. The small soft hands and faces become rough and hard almost before our eyes. The cruelty of time steals all of our precious moments. So if our hope is in our children, it is only fleeting. If our hope is in our career or in our success, it is gone by the time we figure it out. Ultimately, if our hope is in our mortality, this is the greatest deception. Life is so short.

I used to feel sorry for those who had lived a long life and were facing just a few short years before death. But now I am older and realize that it is coming and there is nothing I can do about it. "Make the most of each moment", we tell ourselves. Quality time is nothing more than time. It's like the Christmas feeling. We experience it only once or twice, or we think we do. And after that we are forever seeking it. You decorate, turn on the music, light the tree and the fireplace. You speak cheerfully and try to recreate that feeling and it doesn't happen. That feeling is only a myth. The songs and the stories are just that and nothing more. The glow is only an illusion. Only loneliness and disappointment are real it seems.

Sounds depressing and hopeless. This is what Paul was saying. There is no such thing as "hope only in this life". But we do have hope that is more than in this life only. We have a promise of Peace that passes understanding. There is a place of peace. There is a place of rest for the tormented empty soul. There is a real feeling of Christmas. It is in the hand and heart of Christ. He said, "Come unto me all ye that are weary and are heavy laden and I will give you rest". The God almighty of Glory wrapped His self in flesh and became not only like us but became one of us that he would be "touched by the feelings of our infirmities". He came in a really unlikely situation for a King. His birth was announced to shepherds by angels and a star to wise men. What a beautiful setting. But look a little closer. There was a massacre of children following his birth. There was evil tyranny over his homeland. His birth was to a world that was in anguish and misery. But that is why he came, because nothing is perfect in this world. Perfection came down to earth to pay the ransom for imperfection. Hope came to a manger because the world was without hope. Love came to a manger because the world did not know love. He came to a world that needed a Savior! Hope has come to a world that is without hope! "For God so loved the world that he gave.... ", did not begin at Gethsemane but at creation. "From the foundation of the world", God's gift to the world was himself.