Christmas Means Hope for the Future

 Lately the employees of the American Decency Association have been much divided.

Amongst us, there has been very little unity on the subject of… snow.

Some of us walk around the offices joyfully singing, “Let it Snow,” while others of us have had to retrofit a classic carol for our own purposes and we croon out a mellow, “I’m Dreaming of a Brown Christmas.”

To give you a hint of which side I’m on, I’ll just tell you about a shirt I picked out for my wife. It says, “I Don’t Do Winter;” that is a sentiment with which I agree wholeheartedly.

I don’t like the cold or the ice or the darkness or the cold.

But I do like Christmas.

I love the time with the family and the food and the gifts and the kids playing together with their new toys and yes, if it must be there, even playing in the snow a little bit.

In fact, part of what makes Christmas so exciting is that it comes in the middle of the darkness. There’s so much symbolism there, as the holiday has so much connotation with the light: the lights on a Christmas tree, the Star of Bethlehem, the “chestnuts roasting o’er an open fire,” and most of all, the Light of the World coming to transform a dark and sinful world.

In the dark cold of winter, Christmas is a time when warmth and light break through.

I happened to pick up a book on the end of the world the other day – a strange topic at Christmas, though it shouldn’t be. I found it strangely appropriate for the season, in that it spoke to what Christians have to look forward to at Christ’s return.

In an ultimate sense, that is what Christmas is all about. Jesus’ coming was the beginning of the end as we know it.

In a good way! After all, the angels brought “good news of great joy that will be for all the people!”

When our Savior entered the world he brought with Him hope for what is to come!

Here’s what God said through Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Commenting on this passage, Charles Spurgeon made this poignant observation, “Ours is a hope which demands nothing of time or earth, but seeks its all in the world to come…”

Christmas means hope for the future!

ADA wishes you a Merry Christmas! May your celebrations be a hint of what the ultimate future holds for those whose hope is in Christ!

We are excited to announce that our generous supporters have met our end of the year match challenge! We are thankful to you for your desire to keep our ministry going, and to God for you! Thank you for seeing fit to keep us in action going into 2018.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

 To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412.