It’s no accident God delivered hope in a baby!

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

December, in general, what with Christmas and family and decorating etcetera, seems to be all photos all the time. So I’m not sure that a dedicated “Photo Friday” is necessary.

What’s on my mind today, however, certainly involves a few images; so in a way the theme is still in play.

This week I have been building many of my posts around the words “Hope,” and “Light.” Christmas of course is when light came into the world in a new way, and as a result hope was not so much rekindled as reinvented – and the possibility of hope is still there for those whose hearts remain cold.

Obviously the idea of a baby is always associated with hope. And this was especially true in a First Century Jewish culture where immortality was understood less as “life after death” than in terms of life passed on, preserved, extended, enhanced, and remembered via progeny. To have no children, to be “barren”, was considered a terrible tragedy.

“Unto us a child is born,” then, is hope in the best possible way. When that child is for the entire nation, then that is more hope still. And that child, the scriptures say, is not for “you” or for “me” but for “US“.

So too with our grandchildren. Baby Geoffrey; Mr. T.; Beks; David. What better expressions of hope? What better representation of the idea that we know who holds the future? What more effective sources of light?

Beks, especially, could hold an Edison bulb in each hand and when she smiles they would likely light up!

If you want to know hope…

If you want to know something of hope, and be saturated in light, then find some preschool Christmas program to attend. Sit closer to the front at church this Sunday, so you can pay close attention to the kids as they gather for the children’s message.

When we lived in Brandon several retired couples drove all the way from Sun City every Sunday instead of attending their local Presbyterian church. They came, they said, because they needed the vibrant life that pulsated in and through the congregation, and they sat at the very front where they could experience the swarms of small children coming up to see Tim and Rebekah.