When Advent arrives, at our house, that means Hallmark Christmas movies.
Every year.
As an aside, please take time to applaud my loving husband.
From the end of Thanksgiving until Christmas Day, he sits through one a night, and, yes, he watches them with me. Now this is TRUE LOVE!!! It is also indicative of a man who is very confident in his manliness. He's no closet-watcher. I've heard him enthusiastically tell dinner guests, "Yep, I watch them, too..."
Hallmark Christmas movies.
They are as much a part of our tradition as Christmas Vacation, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, and Elf.
They are cheesy.
They are predictable.
They are predictably cheesy.
There's not much more to say, right?
Wrong...
In a world full of chaos, serious real-life problems, huge losses, and confusing uncertainty, it's quite lovely to feast on the knowledge that somewhere in the world things work out; Christmas magic is still casting spells; and, every new day brings second chances (even if it is only in TV-land, specifically on Hallmark).
It's nice to turn off the news for a few minutes, set aside personal struggles, and languish in someone else's hope.
But, hope isn't just reserved for Hallmark-land.
Second chances aren't just for actors and actresses cast in leading roles within the world of television.
Christmas "magic" is....well, still awe-inspiring.
Christmas-Hope is not just for someone else.
Each of us can find it all gift-wrapped in one word:
Jesus
One author wrote:
"Without the gift of Jesus, grace would be a promise with no power.
Without the presence, life, and work of that baby in the manger, there is no light at the end of the tunnel for sinners. There is no happy ending for rebels. There is no home waiting for the lost. There is only darkness, defeat, judgment, and death.
This season, in the midst of all the celebrations and gift-giving, be careful to remember that at the center of what we celebrate is one game-changing, life-altering, hope-giving reality..........Jesus."
(Paul David Tripp)
Here's the reality. We have this hope:
Everything works out for anyone who is in Christ Jesus.
There is assurance that every tomorrow is filled with second chances.
There is a promise that life has incredible endings for the one who is in relationship with the babe-turned-Savior born in a manger in a land far away from a distant past.
We don't need Hallmark movies to remind us.
We have the facts:
Jesus was born.
He died.
He delivered those who would receive him from the power of their sins.
He rose, defeating the slavery of death.
Hallelujah, the story doesn't end there!
Because He did all the above...
Because He accomplished what the prophets of old predicted...
We can KNOW and BELIEVE in the miracle of tomorrow's Christmas:
Jesus will come again!
There will come another Christmas...and, on that day:
The redemption-story will be completed with a happy-ever-after-Hallmark-ending.
It is truth for all who believe and receive the Son-of-God!
The ending is predictable, but it is certainly anything, but cheesy!
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