A family sits around the dinner table reading about hope, the third Christmas virtue from our family advent devotional

Family Advent Devotional: The Virtues of Christmas Week 4

The following fourth devotion on the virtues of Christmas is designed to lift our gaze beyond the first Advent to the second coming of Christ. Our Christmas hope points us through Easter’s blessings and fills our hearts with expectation for the return of Jesus on the clouds. If by chance you’ve just come upon this fourth family Advent devotion and missed the preceding three, consider reading all four devotions on the virtues of Christmas to your family over the remaining days until Christmas.

Christmas Hope

Have you ever wished for a Christmas gift like a ten-speed bike, a special doll, or a brand-new leather baseball glove? A wish is a longing we feel for something that we desire to receive.

Sometimes, people wish for things they won’t get, like superpowers or a pet dragon. Hope is different than a wish. Hope is fueled by faith. We believe we will receive what we hope for. We hope to do well in school. We hope for lasting, faithful friends or to get well when we are sick.

Earthly hopes can disappoint us in our sinful world. We might fail a test, be betrayed by a close friend, or not recover from a sickness. But hope described in the Bible is guaranteed, for it is based on God’s promises. When God makes a promise, though we do not yet see it, we know it will come to pass.

For thousands of years, the people of God hoped for the Messiah to come. The promise God gave them, which fueled their hope, came to pass on the first Christmas with the birth of Jesus. Adam and Eve put their hope in a promised future son born in their family line. Jesus fulfilled that promise and triumphed over Satan by his death on the cross (Colossians 2:15).

Abraham and Sarah put their hope in the promise of a future son who would bless the nations. Jesus fulfilled that promise by dying for both the Jews and Gentiles. When Simeon met the baby Jesus at the temple, he declared, “My eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:30–32).

The people of Israel put their hope in the prophecy Moses brought, saying, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Jesus fulfilled that promise. As John described, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

David put his hope in the promise of a future king in his line who would sit on an everlasting throne (2 Samuel 7:16). Isaiah promised that this King would bring lasting peace to the land (Isaiah 9:7). Jesus fulfilled that promise by restoring our relationship with God, giving peace with God to all who believe (Romans 5:1).

The hope of all who believed a Savior would come was fulfilled on Christmas with the birth of Jesus, God’s Son.

Now we have a new hope. Jesus gave us a new Christmas promise—his return. The glory of the first Christmas was the birth of the Son. The second coming that we hope for will be like Christmas again. Jesus will return on the clouds just as he left. The mighty trumpet will blow, and he will return as a warrior to put an end to evil and hardship. Jesus’ return will mark the day that God comes here to make heaven on earth and live with his children—Christmas every day.

Consider the following description of that day.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (a href=”https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2021%3A1-5&version=ESV” target=”_blank”>Revelation 21:1– 5).

If it is the presence of God living with his people that makes Christmas, Christmas, then the best Christmas present of all will be the day of Christ’s return. Like all those saints who hoped for the first Advent, we hope for the second and the return of our King.

Though the Christmas Advent season will end again with the closing of another year, our longing for the second Advent continues from Christmas to Christmas. Our hope is fueled by the last words of Jesus recorded in the Bible. In Revelation 22:20, Jesus promises, “Surely I am coming soon.” Each day that passes brings us a day closer to his return. Christmas celebrations each year remind us of the dawning of our salvation in Christ and give us renewed hope for his return.

©2023 Marty Machowski. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

About The Author

Photo of author Marty Machowski.
Marty Machowski

Marty Machowski is a Family Life Pastor at Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, Pa. He is the author of the book, Darkest Night Brightest Day.

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