Jesus - Hope of the World

The Sunday before Christmas is always an eventful day, and today was no exception. In fact this morning we nearly had our own live nativity – I noticed a young woman heading for the door at the end of the meeting, bent over apparently in some pain. I went over to ask if she was OK and realised that it was someone I knew was pregnant. Her husband suddenly appeared and said that they were off to have a baby…! Now knowing Chris, I wasn’t sure if he was joking, but I wasn’t going to hang on to find out! Well I later heard that Christine gave birth half an hour or so later to a little boy. Congratulations Chris & Christine!

So to the evening carol service. I do love these occasions, and like everyone else, enjoy seeing what Marcus will get up to in his graphic and legendry presentations of the Christmas message. This year he was literally drawing it all together on a ten metre illuminated white board. What struck me was the presence, wedged between the cosmos on the left of the board and the state of humanity on the right, a simple crib. How small, how seemingly pathetic. Who would think that here was the answer to all the world’s brokenness and darkness? In our wish to be considered intelligent we really struggle with this, and philosophers and scientists in book after book shout their offence. Yet the cosmos & the angels knew it and celebrated the birth, and Satan and his demons knew it and sought to prevent the birth, and you and I can know it, or rather know Him who came to live among us and die for us. And in knowing Him, Jesus, the hope of the world, we are changed! And better still, we shall see him one of these days, as He really is, risen, ascended, magnificent - and we will enjoy eternity with Him!

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:21-24

Have a great Christmas

Goff