Often I like to begin my December letter with a Christmas song. I love the promise that the story of Christ’s birth holds for the world. So every year, I sing those Christmas songs and let the message fill my heart with thanksgiving. Yet today, as I write to you, it is not a Christmas song that is on my heart and mind, it is a song that reminds us that Jesus is our Living Hope.
One reason people look forward to Christmas is that our culture pauses in its relentless pursuit of self and turns its focus on higher ideals like peace, love, and hope. Some even allow a fleeting moment to remember that Christmas means Jesus, and Jesus means hope!
But those iconic “Christmas” ideals and values have become like a fraying anchor rope, leaving our culture dangerously adrift. Rather than peace, love, or hope, we see fracture, anger, and fear even amongst those who should treasure, preserve, and shamelessly share the Christmas message.
1 Peter 1:3 says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
I want to remind you that, because of Christ, we have access to a Living Hope. This Hope isn’t something we pull out from storage to wear like a coat every Christmas. The world fixes its hope on temporary things that do not answer the tragedies of life. Our culture is suffering an identity crisis! Jesus imparted to us a Living, Eternal Hope, God’s permanent and final answer to a suffering world. My prayer this Christmas is that you would recapture this message of Christmas and let The Living Hope shine through you. He is the answer the world is looking for.
That is exactly what we are doing with our partners. As the war drags on, the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine grows deeper every day. We will continue our efforts to feed people and keep them warm. But my thoughts this December turn to the children impacted by the war. I think about how much they have lost and how dark their world must feel. We can wrap the love, joy, and hope of Christmas in a bright shining bow and bring the message of Living Hope to them.
Donors like you help us give gifts to vulnerable children every Christmas, but there is an extra urgency this year. We know thousands of children are severely impacted by war. They desperately need a reason to smile and a little Christmas joy. Most of all, they need to hear about the Living Hope of Christmas. They need to know that Jesus can be their eternal hope and give them peace that rises above even the fear and uncertainty of their current tragic circumstances.
Please, won’t you consider sharing Christmas hope and joy with a vulnerable child today?
In Love and Grace,
How we Reached the Hearts and Lives of Children in 2022
