Hope of The Season

Have you ever been called on to read Biblical genealogies?  Gasp! Cringe! ​Shudder!  Those Old Testament names can stump a stumper!  Well, ​they often stump me, too, but I just love the genealogies.  One of my favorite memories is walking through ​the cemetery with Dad at his home church where many of ​our family members are buried.  No, the names aren't quite as difficult to pronounce but each name represents a life with a story!  ​And, no, it wasn't a nocturnal walk – that would be too weird!

For certain, God is almighty and ​works at His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), but have you ever pondered what else gives validity to His great promises?  God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like ​Me, declaring the end from the beginning and ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My ​Counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all ​My ​Purpose.'" (46:9-10). After many years of sorrow and hardship, Naomi held Ruth's son in her lap ​while her lifelong friends cheered,​ "A son has been born to Naomi!" (Ruth 4:17).  ​Can't you just imagine the emotions Naomi​ felt -- losing her two sons leaving her without children with no hope of grandchildren or great grandchildren!  Now, holding tiny Obed, she experiences hope!  That ​long-ago ​walk through the cemetery with Dad wasn't just about reading family names, it was the ​remembrances Dad shared about the lives of ​those gone-before, connecting past to present, and savoring the richness of ancestry.  Verses 18-22 of Ruth 4 ​are genealogy -- those verses no one wants to read -- which ​give us glimpse into ​messianic ​history, lives woven together often in strange and unusual ways – yet on purpose and with purpose … God's ​Purpose.  Real people, uncommonly common and ​at times unseemly, but real ​people (not different than us) who followed a higher call​; these are the ones God ​used to deliver real Hope ​on a starry night in a Judean cave (stable). Yes, Bethlehem is the place and Jesus is the Person for this Season.  ​I challenge you to keep your mind bent toward the manger, where Divine first breathed earthly air, wrapped tightly and rocked gently?  If your eyes dare leave the manger, let them wander ahead to God's Purpose fulfilled by way of a cross, and Hope delivered – grave clothes laid aside in yet another cave ​(tomb) left empty by One responsible for death's demise and sin's defeat.  This is the Season & Christ is The Hope!