It's a dark world we live in. Killing sprees, corrupt governments, and domestic abuse. It's sad, how much our world is falling apart. How much the people of our world are falling apart. How we go about our daily lives with heavy hearts wishing for the one day we can just rest and not worry about things going on. We long for a release. We look for a light in the ever-growing darkness.
That's why Jesus came. There's a reason He's called the light of the world. He came into a dark time as well. With King Herod killing boys that were 2 years old and younger, to corrupt religious leaders (not unlike some of the religious leaders today...), Jesus came in a dark world. He was born in a feed box. A nasty, stinky feed box. He could have been born anywhere. He could have been born in a palace or even the Inn. But he was born in a feed box. Maybe he did this to let us know that he came to get dirty. He hung out with the "wrong crowd." He stood out from the "normal people." He died because people didn't like His message of salvation. Yet, He still came.
We look at this world sometimes with the attitude of the ever popular "I don't want to live on this planet" meme (yes, I pulled meme into the conversation). We look at the world and see how messed up it is. Why do we live in it? What's the purpose in fighting anymore? In a word: Hope. Hope that Jesus will come back. Hope that we will live in a world far better than this one. Hope of a future without pain. Hope that only Jesus can bring. Peace that only Jesus can bring.
We live in a dark world. Jesus came to light it up. To disperse the darkness. He came to give us hope. That, I think, is the greatest Christmas gift of all. Hope of a future where there will be no pain, no tears, no sickness, no fear of tomorrow, no stressing out about an assignment due tomorrow, no stress about how much work you'll be able to put in this week, no worry of being able to put food on the table. Jesus brought the greatest gift of all.
Hope.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
