May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13
One of the beautiful gifts of Christmas is the picture of hope fulfilled. It is easy to forget in the rush of Christmastide that the birth of Jesus was the long-awaited hope of generations of people—a hope that many people had given up on. In our current culture, hope can seem more like a distant dream than a spiritual reality. We sing Christmas songs of hope, and yet, we struggle to see how the hope fulfilled in the Gospels has any connection to our day-to-day lives. How can hope apply to us here below? Paul prays a blessing of hope at the conclusion of his letter to the Roman people. He prays, specifically, that they may “abound in hope” through the power of the Holy Spirit. What marks us as Christians, Paul reminds us, is our hope, and here is the beautiful thing, we don’t have to muster up this hope on our own. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that hope abounds within us. So, when we put up our tree this year, or even while we watch Elf for the 56th time, may we remember that we serve a God of hope. Even in the worst of times, we are still promised hope—not through our own efforts, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. May we trust in God to fill us with hope no matter our circumstances. May Christmas be an everlasting reminder that God fulfills what He promises.
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