For those who live with loss and pain of any kind, the Christmas season can be a difficult one. It's been on my heart to share this letter with those of you who are reaching out in hope in your difficult circumstances. It is a letter that I had written to a friend a couple of Decembers ago when we were discussing hope and what it entails. I apologize for its length ... it is my hope that in some way you will be blessed.
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Dear Friend,
Being neither a writer nor a teacher, I can only offer these thoughts and trust that in some way you can integrate them into your revelation on hope and faith.
There is a family story that has been recounted on various Christmas Eves throughout the years. The story involves my brother, who was about 7 at the time, and a much longed-for bicycle. He had it in his mind that he wanted a bicycle for Christmas that year. He wanted it with his whole heart, but he also knew finances were short and that there was a good possibility there would be no bicycle under the tree. There were many practical reasons for him not to hope. But still, he hoped.
It was the custom in our family to go to church on Christmas Eve where my brother and I would participate in the children’s Christmas program. Afterward, the church people would hand out stockings to the children. The stockings were usually filled with oranges, apples, peppermints and peanuts. These were a real treat in the late 40’s and early 50’s. When we arrived home, we would have a special supper of ham, rice pudding and various other goodies. Then, and only then, the gifts that were under the tree could be opened. On this particular Christmas night, my father had put that longed-for bicycle under the tree between the time we left for church and the time we arrived home. Parents do those things, you know. Here was the bicycle that my brother so desired. Could he see it? No, for some reason, the object of his expectant longing was hidden from his eyes until that moment, that fullness-of-time moment (gift opening time) came. And then, the joy of seeing the object of his hope! It had been there all along. Such excitement ... he wanted to take that bicycle out on that cold December night and ride it immediately.
So, why this story. According to one definition hope means: To trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future. We ask in faith - hoping, believing, expecting - for that which we do not see. The answer is there - just as the bicycle was there. But we don’t see the answer until the time is right. The man that sat by the Gate Beautiful had been sitting there for quite some time. Why at this particular moment did he hear those life-giving words, “Such as I have, give I thee. Rise up and walk!” And immediately ... imagine the thrill of that moment, the thrill of not just hearing but actually seeing, the wonder of the strength that flowed into his body and raised him upright on his feet. He was asking, begging as it were, for alms - how much more he received instead. The word “beautiful” that is used in this particular verse means “the fullness of time.” It probably didn’t seem immediate to him, he had been sitting there for what seemed like forever. And consider God’s beloved Daniel. He had been praying, seeking, asking, and finally the angel showed up, only to tell him his prayers had been heard right from the start.
I get excited when I read Romans 15:13 in the Message Bible - “Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!” The color green denotes life and growth. So it should be with hope ... continually growing, producing more life.
Let’s look forward with hope, with eager anticipation to the manifestation of those things that we pray for. Let’s be thankful as we wait on the Lord and see the working out of Romans 5:1-6 “By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us - set us right with him, make us fit for him - we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. 2 And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand - out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. 3 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, 4 and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. 5 In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary - we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! 6 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway.” Message Bible
Faith, hope, love. These three - a threefold cord can’t easily be broken. Don’t throw away your faith, for without faith it is impossible to please God. Don’t throw away your hope, for it has great reward. Don’t throw away your love, for it is the greatest of these. And perfect love casts out fear.
