Worth the Wait

Do you remember the excitement of waiting to open presents on Christmas morning? I do. Growing up we would go to a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, come home and have a snack. I always wanted to open a present that night - but my parents never let me open a present early. I had to wait . . .

So, I would toss and turn and toss and turn and toss and turn and then get up around 6 a.m. ready to go . . . only to have to wait till everyone else got up . . . a few hours later. I know what you are thinking, just open the presents and put the paper back and act like you had not already opened them and be surprised again. Unfortunately, I had previously learned that I could not open the presents before they got up . . . and no one notice. So . . . wait . . . I . . . did.

Why did I wait? Hope. I had hope that my parents, grandparents, and other relatives got me what I wanted for Christmas. Hope that I was getting the remote controlled Goodyear Blimp. Hope that I was getting the Stu Thompson Huffy Bike that I needed. Hope that I was getting that elusive Cabbage Patch Kid. (I know, tough to admit, but peer pressure is a thing.) Hope that I was getting that Dukes of Hazzard poster of . . . no, not Boss Hogg or Bo, or Luke, or Uncle Jessie. I mean, hope is a powerful thing.

Most of the time when we think about hope we think of it as wishful thinking. Hope is seen as buying a lottery ticket and crossing your fingers that this time it will be your number called and all of life’s problems will be solved. But . . .alas, it is someone else’s lucky number called.

But . . .that is not Biblical hope. Hope, that God offers us is assured. It is a for sure thing. It is guaranteed, for sure, not not going to happen hope. It is the exact opposite of being an Aggie fan and hoping you are going to win. You can have this guaranteed type of hope in Jesus. The hope God provides is assured - because of His character. He always does what He says He will do. That is the point of Christmas.

As Christians, we are in the midst of observing Advent. It is the period of waiting until the day of Jesus’ birth - Christmas morning. We consider the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love that comes from knowing Jesus.

Christmas morning is hope realized. God with us Emmanuel. That is a present worth waiting for . . .at exactly the right time, God the Father gave us his greatest gift - his son, wrapped in swaddling clothes. Everything about Jesus was unexpected - His mom, birth, life, death, and resurrection. However, he is the perfect gift, God himself, hope guaranteed.

My hope? Is that you have received the gift of Jesus and have guaranteed hope. I guarantee that He is the greatest gift I’ve ever received.