A lasting hope

Resolutions are shared time and time again in early January. 

People want to be healthier and resolve to eat better and exercise more regularly. People see their need for other people and want to spend more time with those they love. People want to drink less and spend less. To slow down and appreciate. People want to be better. 

Though the calendar ticks over, it is safe to say that not much changes. People go back to work after Christmas, settle into old routines and look forward to the season of celebration once again at the end of the year. 

But why does this one night in the year where everyone stays up late and take in countdowns and fireworks inspire so much? 

Because when you “take away the exploding fireworks, celebrations, roaring countdowns and resolutions what you are left with is human hope… the hope of better days, of new beginnings, and perhaps, if you are especially lucky, a kiss.” (Beautiful Taplin) 

Hope is inspired at New Year’s. But in this time of renewal and the magnitude of human hope that comes with it, ask yourself, your family, your friends and neighbours where that hope is placed. 

As magical as the Christmas and New Year season can be, if hope is not placed in the saviour Jesus Christ, it is empty. 

This season is a great time to point people towards Jesus and offer them a true and lasting hope not just for the first few weeks of 2019, but forevermore. 

“We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:20

–  RAYNE ORANGE