Hope Is In Heaven

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not what is seen but what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. 

You know that space by a shop check-out where they sell all kinds of random things? An impulse buyer’s nightmare! You’re in the queue with your well-planned Christmas present purchase in hand, and then, as you near the check-out, you’ve got all this other tempting stuff right there. Before you realise it, it’s in your hand, and you’ve bought it!

I confess I can get caught in the downward spiral of impulse buying at Christmas. I've bought something simply because it was in front of me. In 2 Corinthians, Paul tells us to fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. The best Christmas present isn’t the one under the tree … it’s the one in heaven, it’s Jesus. 

Jesus has changed my life. He is also in the process of changing it. The kind of change Jesus brings is when the Holy Spirit convicts me of something I’m doing or thinking that doesn't fit the kind of life Jesus wants for me. He highlights the problem and gives me a way to follow him. 

The devil doesn’t convict; he accuses. Ever felt like you were a bad person when you messed up and that you would never measure up again? That’s not God talking; that’s the enemy. The Holy Spirit always gives you a hand up and restores your worth.

Comparing the materialistic aspects of Christmas with a loving God who sent Jesus to live the life I couldn’t live, die the death I couldn’t die, and rise to eternal life so I can too; I choose Jesus every time. He is the best present every year! 

No more sell-outs this Christmas. No more impulse buying. Just one purchase - Jesus. The highest-priced gift that cost me nothing and cost him everything. 

Prayer - Lord Jesus, help me to fix my eyes on you this Christmas season. You are my hope, my light, and my life.