Advent series, Week 2: Hope
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
We are approaching Christmas 2022 – when some remember the journey of the three Wise Men, Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus. But maybe we are baking (or thinking of) cakes, shopping for gifts and bargains; planning (or wishing for) the biggest party ever, spending more than we have or trying to satisfy something in us that never seems to get satisfied…
I remember a story from long before Sat Nav or Google Maps. A motorist stopped in a small village, and asked a local boy which was the road to London. The response was “You can’t get to London from here!”
The local boy probably thought of the journey to London being the final leg of a longer trip, through much bigger towns than his seemingly insignificant village.In life, it is sometimes hard, or even impossible to imagine getting from where we are to where we want to be, or know that we should be.
At Christmas, once we get past the tinsel, the myriad of Santas and the festive food and drink, we might pause and think about the “Christ” in Christmas. If you were the only person in the world, God would love you so much that He would still have come to earth as the Christ child, and died on a cross to give you His gift of forgiveness. He freely gives to those who ask, giving His presence, bringing His beauty and purity; bringing complete transformation. Jesus was born, with the urgency of His mother’s labour pains, in a dirty stable – much like our hearts: not a place all prepared, clean and tidy.
Left to ourselves, we might never get our hearts clean. Asking Jesus to take control of our lives is often likened to a journey – with resting points and fuelling stops, but it starts with peace, and the good news is you can be transformed, no matter what you have done, what your past looks like, or the labels you have been given. You can be transformed right where you are!
Kirsteen Dutton, Prison Fellowship Scotland Letter Writer and Prayer Partner