Talking About Advent: Hope

As we start this season of Christmas, Advent marks a remembrance and preparation for Christ’s birth. We take time to remember what He has done; there are things that only Jesus can give us.  

Jesus can give us hope, a hope that no other worldview or religion can provide. Romans 8:24-25 says, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” While the topic of hope seems difficult, here’s the simple truth: hope and faith are interlinked, and put most simply, hope is trust in promises, or more specifically hope in God’s promises. Christians possess an abundance of hope; Jesus came to fulfill the hope of the Israelites, the promise of God that a savior would come to give salvation to all. Now, as Christians we offer the hope, or promise, of salvation to anyone who will take hold of it.  

It can seem daunting to explains such topics to children, but I am always surprised at how much a child can understand. I begin with a Biblical truth before applying it to our lives. The Bible is full of many promises, some very hard to hear or believe: God promises salvation and forgiveness to all who believe, He promises Jesus will return one day to usher in His kingdom, the New Earth, He promises to be Healer, He promises blessing to those who follow Him. These are just some of God’s promises.  When we feel disappointed in God, it is not a lack of God fulfilling his promises but us not acknowledging the full promise. Hope is trusting God will fulfill and follow through with any promise that He has given. But we must trust in the actual promise, not our human construction. For example, God promises to be healer (James 5). He promises to give healing to those who ask. This isn’t a magical cure all to anything and everything. The promise doesn’t say healing will happen on our terms or in this life.  If someone is struggling with sickness, they can have hope that God will heal them. It might be now, in this life, or it might be in heaven when we as Christians receive a new body; we don’t know the exact timing. But we know healing will come; that’s the promise. Second, Jesus’s return (this promise is found in the Gospels, Daniel, and Revelation). We know Jesus will return, and we have even been given a few details, but we know little, other than it will happen. We have hope that Jesus will come and fulfill all of God’s the promises. 

Every child knows what a promise is; I begin from a point that they understand and expand from there. I find it helpful to offer two types of examples: Biblical examples, usually from the Old Testament, and examples that occur in their life. Fulfilled Biblical examples include his promise to Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would have a son in his old age. He is estimated to be near 100, and Sarah is roughly 90 when this promise is given. Abraham found it hard to believe, and Sarah even laughed at the promise because it was so unbelievable. However, God always fulfills His promises, and Sarah conceived and bore a son: Isaac. There are many, many more fulfilled promises found in Scripture: Noah was promised to be saved from the flood if he built the ark, God promised the Israelites the land of Canaan as their land, before every captivity of Israel, God promised to rescue them  and to save a remnant of Israel, He promises victory to Gideon with his army of 300 men are some examples. There are hundreds of prophecies, or promises, of how the Messiah would come, and every single one Jesus has fulfilled or has promised to fulfill in his second coming.  

As for some examples in a child’s life, it could include parent’s promise to go get ice cream, a promise to receive a certain toy for Christmas, a promise to go to their grandparent’s house. Let’s expand on one. A parent promises their child a toy for Christmas. That child now hopes that their parent will fulfill that promise, and when they open all their presents on Christmas, the toy will be there. This child doesn’t know how the gift will be given; will the parent give a scavenger hunt to find it? Will it be wrapped in multiple boxes? Will it be in a bag? They don’t not even know exactly what the toy will look like; what color will it be? Will it be the large or small? However, a good, loving parent will fulfill their promise, and the child hopes rightly.  

Unfortunately, since we live in a fallen world, hoping in man’s promises will end in disappointment. We impress on our children that while earthly promises of people might be broken, God never breaks His promise. Whatever promise you find in Scripture will be fulfilled. Many already have been.  Take the time to guide your child in which promises they can hold tightly.