The nouns of Christmas, “hope, peace, joy, and love”, are all meant to remind us of what we have in Jesus. He is our Hope because “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” He is our Peace and is “reconciling us (sic) to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility”. He is our Joy and in Him we are saved, for “Jesus, is (sic) the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” He is our Love and has given us the promise that “nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
These promises are absolute, like the promise of the sun rising each morning, yet so are the realities that come with each new day, that may steal our hope, peace, joy, and love. Though the story of Jesus’ birth is full of hope and wonder, it also reveals pain and suffering that all humanity feels, despite that fact that it is the “most wonderful time of the year”.
Tragedy struck soon after Jesus’ birth and whole families suffered deeply.
When Herod saw that the wise men had tricked him, he was furious. So he gave an order to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding area who were two years old or younger. This was in keeping with the time he learned from the wise men. 17 So what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah came true:
“A voice was heard in Ramah of painful crying and deep sadness: Rachel crying for her children. She refused to be comforted, because her children are dead.” Matthew 2:16-18
The pain and suffering as a result of Jesus’ birth, the death of babies all over Bethlehem, was another harsh example of why He had to come and eradicate the world of sin and death. The same evil that slaughtered innocent babies at the hands of a jealous and crazed ruler, would one day nail Jesus to a Roman cross on trumped up charges. This is why He came, to give His life “a ransom for many” and to crush Satan, death and sin.
Suddenly, the joyous, hopeful, Christmas story loses all aspects of love and peace causing our faith to be shaken in the face of those things that are the result of sin. “We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:23-25).
For many this Christmas season there is no hope or joy due to the harsh realities of life. Some may be living with the same pain felt by the mothers in Bethlehem, dealing with the loss of child. Others may be looking across their dining room table at the empty chair that was once filled by a love one. The grief that we feel during Christmas is not due to lack of faith in the redemption story, but because the enemy has come to seek and destroy all that Christ has done yet we know that is defeated and because of this, the devil brings havoc to our lives.
As we celebrate Jesus’ birth, embrace those who are not “feeling it” this year. “Tears do not reflect a lack of faith. Tears are a gift from God that help to wash away the deep pain of loss.”
The life of Jesus that began in a wooden cradle will culminate in death on a wooden cross. But it will not be a senseless, meaningless death. It will be a death-conquering death, followed by new resurrection life. The writer of Hebrews explains, “The Son became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death” (Hebrews 2:14 NLT). The power death has now, to bring so much sorrow, will not be the way it is forever. What Christ set in motion when he defeated death at his first coming will come to its full fruition when he comes again.
This is our great hope at Christmas, and the hope we have to share with those who are grieving at Christmas — that “yonder breaks a new and glorious that “yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.” The Christ who came as a baby and died as our substitute will one day return to consummate his kingdom. And when he does, “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4). (Desiring God).
The story of baby Jesus, full of “peace on earth, good will to men”, is also fraught with the reality of the sinful world to which He came. Our own reality reflects the incongruous nature of living a in a dying world, while clinging to the promises of God. Pain and suffering are actualities, but in this we have that greater truth that God is for us and gave up His only Son to demonstrate His relentless love toward us.
When the hurt of this world attempts to sabotage your peace, remember this truth, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8: 31-32).
Let the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” this Christmas season (Philippians 4:7).
Have a happy New Year’s Eve and rest in the truth that no matter what 2018 brings, God’s in control and He is Love, Peace, Joy and our Hope.