Hope Is In The Manger

Luke 2:29-31
Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations.

I love Christmas family traditions. One of ours is marking a handmade felt Christmas calendar passed down to our family. Every day leading up to Christmas, we attach different felt ornaments to the dates: a star, an angel, a tree, a bell and so on. Each family member takes it in turn to put on a new ornament. Then, we all sing a verse from the carol that matches the image on the ornament. Christmas Day culminates in the ornament of Jesus in the manger, and we sing Away in a Manger together. It’s pretty corny, I guess, but I have to admit I absolutely love it!  

In the passage preceding the scripture above, we learn that Simeon, a faithful follower of Israel's God, had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah, God's Promised One, before he died. When Jesus is brought to Simeon in the temple, the old man has a divine revelation that the baby he is holding in his arms is the Messiah he’s been waiting for his whole life. The words he speaks are a beautiful example of hope fulfilled.

The Oxford Dictionary defines hope as 'a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.'  Just like Simeon looking forward to the day when he would see the Messiah face to face, or my family marking down the days of our Christmas calendar until we get to Away in the Manger, so we hold in our hearts our hope of meeting with Jesus this Christmas.  

Are we putting our hope in the baby in the manger this season? Is he what we are eagerly anticipating? 

Prayer: Jesus, please come and meet with me at Christmas this year. Speak to me and show me the way I should go. My hope is in you.

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Hope Is In Heaven

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Hope Is An Anchor