Kids, have you figured this out yet? We are so messed up. Humans, that is. We always figure out a way to misunderstand, to cause injury, to just somehow get it wrong. Sometimes it’s because we are clueless, but a lot of times our pride, arrogance, selfishness get in the way. The only way to really live blameless lives is to learn how to apologize. A lot.
So we open Christmas season with a wonderful word- hope. “Confident expectation,” as all my bible teachers like to say. It’s going to happen. It has started happening, but it’s not complete yet. I know this because…see opening paragraph. I keep messing things up.
What is this hope? What does it have to do with the Christmas season and a baby born is such odd- even messed up- circumstances? I love the way it is characterized in the Message version of 1 Peter 1.
“So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”” (1 Peter 1:13-16 MSG). That is so, so worth hoping in.
Father, thank you for the joy and hope of this season. Thank you for the astoundingly beautiful story of your Son’s sacrificial birth; I pray our hearts never harden to its wonder. But Father, this week- this week we thank you for the hope that you will pull our lives into the shape of you, that you will make something beautiful and holy out of the dust and clay that we are. Thank you for touching our weak and flawed offerings and turning them into masterpieces worth sharing. And thank you for our future in your presence for eternity. May each of these children whom we love so much know this hope deep in their souls. #prayersformychildren #advent2017
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