A Hope-Filled Christmas…As Christmas approaches, many of us feel that familiar sense of warmth and comfort. The Nativity scene comes out of storage, the tree lights flicker on, gingerbread begins to fill our kitchens, and our homes take on that beautiful Christmas glow. I’ll be the first to admit, I love all of it. I am the aunt who buys the Christmas stockings for my nephews, the one who happily joins friends to decorate gingerbread and make wreaths, and the one who purchases a new Christmas ornament each year. But if I’m honest, it’s possible for me to wrap myself in the cosiness of Christmas and completely miss the wonder of it. I can sentimentalise the season, make it lovely, decorative, and charming and forget the awe-inspiring truth behind the manger scene. When we look at the baby in the manger, we are looking at God’s Servant - the One promised hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah 42. Jesus came with a mission: We are reminded in scripture that He healed the physically blind, yes - but even more, He came for those of us who are spiritually blind, burdened by guilt, or longing for freedom from the things that hold us. Jesus didn’t come with tasks for us to complete; He came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. This week, I found myself asking a simple but important question: “What am I giving my heart to?” I was challenged by reflecting on this question, and it may even be timely for you as well. In the rush of finishing the school year,
end-of-year events, family and friends’ catchups, and everything happening in our world, it’s so easy for our attention to scatter. We can easily focus on the urgent, the loud, or the stressful and forget the deeper truth that holds everything together. That question gently pulls us back to the real reason for Christmas - back to Jesus - back to the Servant who steps into our darkness with light, into our burden with grace, into our chaos with peace. It reminded me that Christmas is not about my effort, but His work; not about my striving, but His rescue. As I have been reading Romans in the Bible this week, I was reminded that while we were once slaves to sin, those who trust in Jesus are now under God’s grace - fully forgiven, fully loved, and wonderfully free. “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
That is the heart of Christmas. The baby in the manger is not just a beautiful decoration. He is the Servant who came to rescue. This is the story that never grows old. If Christmas is a difficult time for you, or if you’re simply curious about the Christian story, please feel free to chat with me, email me, or connect with one of our Christian families or staff about attending a church service. You are always welcome. There are many Christmas services across Hobart, large and small. If you would like to read the Christmas story together as a family, you can find it in the Bible by reading the Christmas Story in Luke out loud as a family or watching The Who, What, Why, How of Christmas. And if you would like a physical Bible of your own, please let me know as I would love to gift one to your family. My prayer is that you and your family experience a hope-filled Christmas, one that lifts your eyes beyond the busyness and brightness of the season to the One who came to save, to free, and to shine light into the darkness. May you find joy in Jesus - our Servant, our Saviour, and our King. Bethany Armstrong - Principal
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