Living Hope

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” ESV 1 Peter 1:3

This past week I had an opportunity to visit Nashville with a tour group. I think there were 52 of us on a chartered bus with tickets in hand to see an ice sculpting display and a Christmas show at the Grand Ole Opry. The bus thing was a bit different for me though I found it very similar to plane travel except that I didn’t have to remove my shoes or check my luggage prior to boarding. There was only one departure delay; 51 other folks beat me back to the bus. But they patiently waited; a courtesy the airlines have never extended to me. Anyway, we had a great time.

Part of the show included an aside of sorts in order to tell the Christmas Story. The props and costumes were great (lots of glitter) and they even had live camels and sheep for added effect. The music set a soothing, reverent tone and the announcer’s voice was the deep, smooth tone of a seasoned radio personality. Overall, it was a very stimulating setup both visually and audibly.

But I began to notice gaps that my mind was being forced to fill in. Could it be true? Did he really just gloss over the resurrection? Yes. The story of Jesus had been sanitized, presumably to prevent offending anyone. Well guess what? I was offended.

As the story was presented that day in Nashville, Jesus was a fine young man who helped his dad in the family business for 30 years before entering the ministry for 3 years. He died at a young age and was placed in a borrowed tomb. Since then the world has never been the same.

Conveniently absent from the story was the fact that God had burst onto His creation as a man. Conveniently absent from the story was the fact that He died a criminal’s death on the cross. Conveniently missing from the story was the fact that He rose from the dead three days later! That would explain the borrowed tomb wouldn’t it? Why purchase one if you’d only need it for three days…

Here’s my point. God has dwelt among us; we called Him Jesus. Jesus lived a sinless life in a sin filled world. Jesus died a criminal’s death on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus was victorious over death and rose from the grave. Folks, when you ignore or whitewash these facts you are not telling the story of Christmas.

Will the full story offend some people? Absolutely; Christianity is offensive. There is only one God. There is only one way to heaven. There is only one Savior. And all three are wrapped up in Christ. Some people find that disagreeable. But political correctness cannot dictate truth.

At Christmas, we don’t celebrate the birth of a “good” man. We celebrate the birth of the Lamb of God who conquered even death; He lives still. He, the Christ child, is the reason Peter says Christians have been “born again to a living hope.”

-Ken Askew