Amidst everything else that occurs around the Christmas season there seems to be a predominant theme inside and outside religious circles. The theme is HOPE. At Christmas we all hope for something better - for our health, our relationships, our finances…

Recently I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. For two years, eight individuals hiding in the "secret annex" above the warehouse hoped that the allied forces would liberate Holland. Today there are millions of people, whether in Southern Sudan, Haiti, the Middle East or the downtown East Side of Vancouver, who are hoping for something better.

There is so much unrest in the world. Something is wrong. We were created for something better and this is where hope comes in.

Nothing has changed from 2,000 years ago. Then, God's people were hoping for liberation and the opportunity to become who they were to be as a people. The answer was Jesus. Today the world continues to groan in hope for redemption. The answer is Jesus. As people of God, beyond the cultural expectations of decorating, visiting and exchanging gifts, our greatest contribution to this season is to offer hope to a hopeless world. We offer Jesus.
 

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope — a future of success, not of suffering.”

Jeremiah 29.11 (CEV)

Ted Seres

National Director
December 8, 2010

HOW CAN YOU OFFER HOPE THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON?