The Hope of Christmas
Presents, food and fun. Christmas is the one time of year when anything goes; diets and budgets are thrown out the window for a few days of celebrating and generosity. But what does Christmas look like during a cost-of-living crisis? When icy evenings mean the choice between a cooked meal or turning the heating on? When every tank of petrol means one less present under the tree? When anxiety increases with the supermarket prices?
Many of us may have to rely on the kindness of strangers and charities to bring Christmas cheer into our homes this year. Will this just become another disrupted-perhaps disappointing Christmas? Our worries, questions and problems may change from year to year, but the Christmas story remains the same. And, perhaps surprisingly, just as relevant. Jesus knew how hard life on earth can be. He lived in a perpetual cost-of-living crisis (not that he saw it that way). He owned next to nothing, had no savings, and constantly relied on the kindness of others for his daily needs.
When he was born, he was laid in a borrowed manger. As an adult, when he taught about money, he had to borrow a coin from the crowd for his illustration. When he rode into Jerusalem, he did it on a borrowed donkey. His last meal with his friends was held in a borrowed room. After he was executed on the cross, his body was laid in a borrowed tomb.
“I have no place to even lay my head” he would tell his followers. He had no home, no money, no possessions. Every bed he slept in and meal he ate was borrowed. In fact, Jesus made no investment in this world at all-he didn’t chase after any of the “treasures” found on earth. So why did he bother coming here at all? Why leave his throne in heaven to live a penniless, humble and brutally short life on earth?
He came to claim the only treasure worth having: you. It’s no overstatement to say it as personally as this. Jesus spoke powerfully to the crowds, but what he loved most was connecting with individuals. His passion was to reach each person within the hardships, uncertainty and fear of their daily lives, and show them their true value to him. To everyone who trusts him, Jesus gives them himself. We are his treasure.
And he is ours. This world’s treasure is so fragile and temporary. Petrol tanks constantly empty; homes need heating and repairing; money only ever buys so much before it runs out. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal,” Jesus explained. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” He didn’t say this to diminish the important things and relationships we have in our lives, but to show He is even more valuable; and crucially can never be lost.
Everyone who places their trust in Jesus enters a lasting and secure relationship with God. That’s the hope of Christmas; Jesus knows what it is to live in this world with very little, so he knows how to take care of us and provide for us throughout all our ups and downs. That’s why he is the real treasure we need.
Jesus lived with nothing, sometimes experiencing severe hunger, thirst, weariness, rejection, and betrayal. He did it out of love-to rescue us from being tied to this temporary, crumbling world. Because of him, we can choose to become part of his eternal kingdom instead.
If we are willing to trust him, our debts and living costs won’t magically disappear, but he will provide for us each day. And we will know joy and peace because we won’t have to manage this life on our own anymore. God will walk with us through it. And he will never let us down.
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