hope is more than a seasonal tradition.

The other day we had four donations arrive, one after another.  Jackets, socks, shirts, and more.  It is a time of giving - the season evokes our passion to bless one another.  It is encouraging for us as a ministry, but a bittersweet feeling lingers.  Into January the donations will fade.  As heat returns the jackets will be discarded.  All that will remain is a faint memory of the hope and the empty hole of its disappearance.  That is the danger of hope.  As it fades into a dream, the nightmare that it temporarily overshadowed explodes in ferocity. 

The apostle Paul once said that if Christ were our hope only in this world Christians should be pitied above all men.  This is because Christ is our ultimate hope.  He overshadows every nightmare.  He does not fade away.  If that hope disappeared, that pain would be beyond bearing.  But Christ and his hope are eternal.  They do not end.  Therefore it is our prayer that the small hopes of each of these donations would point to a true hope.  To the root hope.  To the foundational hope.  The hope that will not fade as the Christmas lights disappear and the presents are forgotten.  The hope of Jesus that lasts forever.

I have seen nightmares in too many eyes.  I have heard too many stories saturated with hopelessness.  So continue giving.  Continue blessing the people around you, but pray for them.  Meet them.  Get to know them.  Teach people that hope doesn't have to fade away like a borrowed cigarette.  Hope can last forever.