Hope Delivered!
Christmas has come at last! Were you up early, looking at your presents, feeling them, shaking them? That exciting feeling of wondering what's in them, and you open one and… what did you get? But every year, after a while, life starts to settle back into the ordinary, just like it had been before Christmas.
I've been thinking about Mary and Joseph, the day of their first baby’s birth coming at last for them. They surely felt excited, and also worried, about the birth, about clothing and feeding. They arrive in Bethlehem, looking for a place to stay, perhaps Mary saying "it's coming, it's coming!", and Joseph trying to stay calm like husbands are supposed to do!
They manage to find a place, with animals, smelly, not very clean. And there it happens, and they must a felt a huge sense of relief. And then, big surprise, some shepherds turn up, say they've seen angels who told them the baby would be the Saviour, the Christ! And there in Mary's arms is not just the miracle of a newborn baby, but also the miracle of the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord of the universe, somehow come in that baby, the ‘Word’ made flesh.
But what about a few days, or a week or two later, after life had settled back into the ordinary, the feeding, the cleaning and looking after this little bundle? We're told 'Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often'. Mary kept thinking about all the things that had happened, that God had spoken to the shepherds. It's a great lesson for us, after the excitement of Christmas and the presents, to remember and to keep on thinking about the many things God has spoken through the birth of Jesus; that he is our Saviour, the Christ, he is Emmanuel, God with us.
We've had cards and presents delivered to us this year, but by far the best thing delivered at Christmas is the hope that Jesus brings. When we get a letter we don't know what's in it until we open it. And to know the hope of Jesus we need to open our hearts to him and ask him to become part of our lives, so that he becomes HOPE DELIVERED to us - not just for the few days around Christmas, but a hope that lasts the rest of the year and the whole of our life. And a hope that remains even though we may be missing meeting our friends and family this year.
So, wishing you a wonderful Christmas season, enjoying your cards and presents, and knowing the joy of eternal hope delivered to the door of your life!
Peter Iles
Guest Writer