Day 2 Advent Devotional | December 5th
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Christmastime is full of hope. Children hope beyond hope that their stockings will be full of goodies. They hope they have been “good enough” all year for some of that Christmas magic to come their way. Parents hope older children will come home for Christmas, or at least be close enough to see each other during their break. Maybe some hope for a favorite activity to be done, a favorite food to be consumed, a favorite tradition to be enjoyed. Everyone hopes for the moment to last a little longer.
All these kinds of hope are fine and lead to a warm feeling or two. But, the Bible speaks of a much deeper and truer hope through the coming of Christ. Today’s passage calls it a living hope! A living hope is as far different from a warm-feeling hope as Christmas Day is from Valentine’s Day. There is nothing wrong with the warm-feeling hope of the season, but may we not confuse the two.
A living hope is a hope alive within a soul, forged by the fire of faith, a grace gift from an all-loving Heavenly Father. A living hope is born into a person by the fresh wind of the very Spirit of God as He calls us to Himself. A living hope never fades when the calendar turns to a new year, rather it grows in scope as we surrender more and more of our lives over to Jesus. You do not have to settle for a hope that fades this Christmas, you have access to the hope built on nothing less than Jesus Himself. He comes to bring us living hope. Rest in Him as the season rolls on. His living hope in you can never diminish, it can only grow!
Prayer: Father of our Lord Jesus, in your mercy you came to give us living hope for this life and the life that is to come. Calm my anxious doubts and fears. Teach me to rest in the living hope that is Your Spirit with me and in me. May it be a foundation in my soul for You to move mightily in my life.