December 21: Hope

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  - Romans 5:5

Have you ever followed a recipe that was billed as being “foolproof?” There is something perverse and self-defeating in me that always seems to take that as a challenge. “Foolproof fudge?! Ha. Clearly, they’ve never been with me in the kitchen. Let me see here; I see it says ‘milk’ here on the recipe, but I don’t see where it specifies that it should be milk from a cow. Why don’t we go with milk of magnesia? I think I’ve got some of that here.”

But I love the idea of a recipe I can’t mess up, something where the inclusion of the right ingredients produces a perfect outcome, however imperfect the cook.

And Christmas isn’t foolproof in the sense that it is safe from fools, but it is the only hope of safety that the fool will ever have. And the ingredient that makes Christmas come out right even if everything else is wrong? Hope.
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Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s already added the ingredient of a love that’s been perfectly poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. That’s it. God’s love, our hope.
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Don’t fail to give yourself fully to the experience of hope this Christmas. Hope with everything you have that the Christ who came as a baby is coming back as a king. Hope that the power that was great enough to bring Jesus down to us will prove great enough to bring us up to him. Hope that all the wrongs will be made right, that his kingdom will come and that his will be done here as it is in heaven. Hope it all, being confident that “hope does not put us to shame.”

Make snowman pancakes!
I was going to suggest that you make foolproof fudge, but I didn’t want to provide you with a recipe I have never successfully used myself. So here’s an idea that only requires that you be able to make pancakes and sprinkle sugar. I won’t even insult you with directions. And, if you’ve ever seen the show “Nailed It,” you’ll know why I’m asking you to send me a picture of your snowman pancakes. Please.

Written by: Joel Tate

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