“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” I Peter‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I find myself quite taken with the phrase “a living hope.” This is what we have in Jesus. This is why it matters that he was born. This is why we celebrate and make merry at this time of year.

Because in Jesus we have a living hope – one that is full of life, that grows and moves and breathes.

It is not an idea, it is a person. One who walked with the outcast and stranger. One who noticed those who were overlooked. One who healed the broken hearted and released those bound by sin and shame.

It is hard to put into words all that He means. Even for one who preaches about him every week. I often find myself at a loss for words, completely overwhelmed by this person, this Jesus – this man-and-God-all-at-once.

So I find myself taken with a phrase like this because for me, it begins to get to who He is and what He means.

A living hope.

Not a dry dusty idea, not a faint whisper, not a fragile dream.

There’s a song I love to sing at this time of year: hope is a star, that shines in the night, leading us on until morning is bright.

This Advent, May you know the hope that is ALIVE. May you meet Him anew. May you be overwhelmed by all that He does and that He means.