Where is lasting hope to be found today? Hope is an interesting commodity that all humans need plenty of in their lives. We hope for things all the time and part of our reality is that hopes can fade, fail, or last for only a brief moment in time. This is because life is short, and when hope fails us then this makes us confront the brevity and meaning of life.
Why do we need hope? And how important is it to us? The very concept of hope is the attaining of something or someone in the future. Hope is future in its orientation, and this makes it a temporal problem for people. However, the only solution to the temporal problem of hope is an eternal solution.
The event of Christmas is the twofold answer to this problem because the long-waited eternal hope for the world becomes flesh and blood. Our God and Saviour Jesus not only becomes flesh and blood like us but also the embodiment of our hope. This we call our living hope for all who place their trust in Him. The event of Christmas marked the birth of a lasting eternal hope, and this event would be followed by an equally great event in his death and resurrection, where he became our eternal living hope. A Lasting Hope for a future with God, and this hope puts all our other hopes and dreams into their rightful place. Jesus our eternal and lasting hope in his birth, life, and resurrection turns a world full of troubles, sin, chaos, and death into a place where we can still live with a living hope that will not fade or fail us because it assures us of an eternal future. Like Paul, we can say also “We have such a hope” and “freedom” in Jesus Christ the Lord (2 Cor 3:12-18).
For this Christmas when we are enjoying time with family and friends over food and exchanging gifts. Give thanks for the Good News of this lasting hope which sheds light and meaning into everything we have in this world. Remember it is only because God dwelt amongst us that we could be recipients of his ultimate gift of eternal hope found in Christ. Our challenge this year is who will we share this Good News with? Let’s share it with those around us who are without this lasting hope.
今天，持久的盼望在哪裡可以找到？盼望是一個有趣的東西，每個人都需要它在生活中充足的存在。我們不斷地對各種事物抱有希望，然而，在我們現實中希望有時會褪色、失敗，或者只能維持片刻。這是因為人生短暫，當希望辜負了我們時，迫使我們不得不面對生命的短暫與思考人生的意義。
為什麼我們需要盼望？盼望對我們有多重要？盼望這個概念本身，就是對未來某物或某人的期望。希望是面向未來的，這使得它對人們來說是一個時間性的問題。然而，解決盼望的時間性問題的唯一方法，就是一個永恆的解決方案。
聖誕節的事件是對這個問題的雙重回答，因為這個世界久盼的永恆希望成為了肉身。我們的神與救主耶穌不僅像我們一樣成為了肉身，還成為了我們希望的具體體現。這就是我們所稱的活潑的盼望，對於所有信靠祂的人。聖誕節的事件標誌著一個永恆盼望的誕生，而這個事件將會被祂的死亡與復活所跟隨，當時祂成為了我們的永恆活潑希望。這是對未來與神同在的盼望，並且這個盼望將我們所有其他的希望和夢想放在了它們應有的位置。耶穌，作為我們的永恆和持久的盼望，透過祂的誕生、生活與復活，將一個充滿困難、罪惡、混亂和死亡的世界，轉變成一個我們仍可以活著，擁有永不褪色、永不失敗的活盼望的地方，因為這盼望保證了我們一個永恆的未來。像保羅一樣，我們也可以說「我們擁有這樣的盼望」和「自由」，在耶穌基督主裡（哥林多後書 3:12-18）。
在這個聖誕節，當我們與家人和朋友一起享受美好的時光，分享美食，交換禮物時，讓我們為這個持久盼望的好消息感恩，因為它為我們在這個世界上的一切賦予了光明和意義。請記住，正是因為神與我們同在，我們才能成為祂最終禮物——在基督裡找到的永恆盼望的接受者。今年我們的挑戰是，我們會與誰分享這個好消息呢？讓我們將這個消息與周圍那些沒有這持久盼望的人分享。
