What is the best gift you’ve ever received? A gorgeous piece of jewelry…a Kitchen-Aid mixer…a new car with a big red bow? Maybe you’ve received the gift of a new family member at Christmas. Perhaps you’ve traveled to an authentic Christmas market in Europe or lounged on white sandy beaches while listening to a steel drum band playing Christmas carols. A quiet cabin in the mountains with snow softly falling outside the window could be a gift that you have enjoyed. The memories of these gifts and the givers are cherished.
Advent invites us to reflect on four gifts that we receive when we receive Christ: Hope, Peace, Love and Joy. Corresponding to the candles that we light each week, they help us focus on the perfect plan of salvation by grace that God has for us.
Hope is the gift that I have been contemplating during this season of busyness. Like so many, I have been caught up in a whirlwind of holiday preparation and planning. Ironically, preparation to celebrate the birth of Christ sometimes can distract me from experiencing the full measure of the hope I was given. We have the greatest gift ever and the apostle Peter exhorts us to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15b
Medical professionals are desperately trying to come up with ways to combat the hopelessness in the world today. Controlled studies show that this hopelessness is decreasing life expectancy through a rise in preventable diseases and deaths of despair. Hopelessness is so recognizable as a serious issue that it merely takes an internet search or a brief glance of the news headlines to know how serious the problem is. Just as it was long ago, people today need the hope that Christ gives.
“Light in the Darkness” by Blaise Flowers
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2
Many people today still walk in darkness, not having accepted or even known about the hope available through Christ.
Last Christmas, my son gifted us a painting entitled “Light in the Darkness.” I saw on that canvas the picture of Isaiah 9:2 that I have had in my mind’s eye since I was a small child.
Hope.
This Christmas season, let us prepare to give the gift of hope to others. Just as the shepherds ran to tell of Immanuel so many years ago, God can use us to shine the Light of the World into the dark of hopelessness.
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Sarah Flowers lives in idyllic Chadds Ford, where she is steeped in beauty and connection to the land and its history. She loves coffee and flowers and getting to know Jesus. A lifelong learner, she seeks to follow God’s plan to bring justice to the under-resourced. Sarah is a self-declared serial optimist and melodiphile; there’s always a path to the sunny side and a soundtrack for the journey!
She is a mom and wife and a grateful alumna of Northwood University. Her former iterations include automotive professional and shoe diva. Sarah serves on the Deacon Team at Willowdale Chapel.
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