“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord“(Romans 8:38-39).
We have seen the different gifts that Jesus is for us this Christmas. However, we have not seen the most beautiful gift that Jesus offers us this Christmas; the gift of being our God, of giving us eternal hope.
Many of us have lost hope in Jesus and the church because we received empty and wrong promises about Jesus. We were told, that if we follow Jesus, our problems fade away, and we will have a fine marriage, the right job, a lovely house and good health. Others were told that if they follow Jesus, their dreams of success and social relevance will become true. But none of these promises are true. Jesus never promised these things. In reality, our problems might increase because of our faith, and it is more probable that we will be mocked and ridiculed than become famous or relevant because of Jesus.
What Jesus indeed promised us is that He will be with us forever. The promise of God is God himself. That is because there isn’t anyone or anything that could be the source of your ultimate hope. Any other source of hope, whether money, fame, relationships, relevance and the like, will ultimately disappoint us. Our eternal longings can only be met and satisfied by eternity itself.
As CS Lewis said: Our lifelong nostalgia, our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. And to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honour beyond all our merits and also the healing of that old ache.
Jesus can redeem our past, fulfil our present, and give us hope that all things will be made new in the future. Our whole lives and aspirations are completed in Jesus. And that is the greatest gift we can receive this Christmas. The blessing of the son of God- no more and no less. Jesus is the healing of “the old ache”. The questions are: will you let him be your God? Will you put your trust and your hope in him? Allow him to heal your life and be the Lord of your life. He is the promise of Christmas.
Happy Christmas!
Jesus is our greatest gift!