A Reason for Hope
A number of years ago, my wife and I brought our children to Disneyland; they were still young enough to be filled with wonder at the sights and sounds. While there, we were all caught up in the “magic”—everything was clean, beautiful, and designed for our pleasure. As we entered the park, the signs proclaimed Disneyland to be “the happiest place on earth.”
As we walked through the park, from time to time, a well-known Disney tune was played, “When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires, will come to you.” In a place like Disneyland, one wishes—and almost believes—this song to be true.
But if we are honest, when we look at our own lives, and the world around us, we are forced to admit that things aren’t the way we want them to be. Brokenness abounds: broken bodies, broken dreams and desires, broken families, broken economic systems, and broken nations. “It shouldn’t be this way,” we tell ourselves.
We long for so much more, we hope things will be different, but so often our hope is little more than wishful thinking. I hope it won’t rain in Vancouver. I hope eating Christmas baking won’t affect my weight. There is vast difference, isn’t there, between wishful thinking and hope? Wishful thinking doesn’t have the power to sustain us in the real world.
At the centre of the universe lies a story about the Good God. He creates, sustains, pursues, and redeems; in Him we have hope.
As you well know, the word “advent” means “coming,” or “arrival”. God the Son became human in the person of Jesus, His arrival long foretold. Charles Wesley writes, “Come, Thou long expected Jesus Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.”
Jesus is the embodiment of God’s goodness, a promise that God will do what He has said. He will sustain, pursue, and redeem. Through Jesus we’ve been ushered into a living hope that will never perish, spoil, or fade.[1]
In the next few weeks, if you gather around a tree to exchange beautifully wrapped presents, let me encourage you to think about Jesus and the gifts He gives. May His joy fill you, His peace sustain you, and His hope surround you.
– Rev. Mark Peters, District Superintendent
[1] 1 Peter 1:4-5.
