December 3rd, Chip Grantham
HOPE
Thanks for taking part in this Advent Journey with us, as we prepare our hearts for the gift of the Christmas Child! As we start the Advent Journey, we always start with Hope. The first candle we light in the Advent Wreath is the Candle of Hope, and there is a reason. Do you know that we are in the hope-bearing business? Hope is important. Everybody doesn’t have the ability to think like the little boy in his backyard, he’s tossing the ball up to swing and hit it with the bat, saying “I’m the greatest hitter in the world.” He swings and misses. So, he does it again, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” another miss. He does it again, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world,” and misses the third time. To which he responds, “Wow, I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”
That’s a fellow that can find the light, in spite of the darkness around him. But the truth is, there aren’t a lot of people wired like that. You and I both have friends who live in a darkness that most folks can’t understand. I’ve had several friends who suffered from clinical depression. And in my ministry, I’ve walked with a lot of people through some really dark days in their lives. And the truth be told, I went through some dark days, where I couldn’t see much light. We don’t really ever know what is going on in anybody else’s life. And we don’t realize how dark other people’s lives can be, because most of the time we aren’t really honest with one another about how things are going in our lives. We are in constant need of hope, and the people around us are desperately in the need of hope.
David wrote, Psalm 33:18-22 – 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
The note in the Bible reminds me of when he wrote it. It says, Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, he left. Yes, even the people who wrote the Bible had dark days. David knew that it took more than love and faith, you needed hope as well. I can tell you that love can’t hold a marriage together. Love can’t hold life together. I know people who have committed suicide who had love, who had faith, but they lost their hope. Love isn’t enough alone! It has to have faith, and it has to have hope!
The Apostle Paul wrote, And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. (1 Cor 13:13) Our job is to go into the world and give Hope. We start with the people closest to us. Faith, Hope, and Love – they’re relational. And they are always personal. That’s why God sent Jesus, why Jesus established the Church. People are always in need of hope. We go as God’s agents to share Hope, to a hopeless world, as we introduce them to the One who is the reason for our hope.
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