Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ~Ephesians 2:12-13 (NIV)

Usually, "Remember that one time?" moments are usually a lot more lighthearted than this one from Ephesians.


My father-in-law once told me a story from his childhood that involved him and his friends catching baby alligators and releasing them in the local movie theater. Crazy, right? But fun. Something to look back on and giggle about.

We don't typically like to reminisce on when things were difficult, or soul-crushing, or felt hopeless and bleak. There's no fun in that. It makes us sad. It brings the mood in the room WAY DOWN. No one wants to be a buzzkill. Keep it light. Keep it happy. Right?

But if we don't take time to reflect on the tall, thick, thorny, impenetrable barrier our sin created, then how can we truly share in the joy and awe that the birth of Jesus ushered?

Remembering how far we were from Christ makes the joy of Christmas that much more tangible and beautiful. We had absolutely nothing to do with the giving of this gift. Probably why it’s called a gift, huh?Jesus just loved us THAT MUCH that He chose to do this whole human thing on Earth with us. Creator and creation, walking side-by-side. Jesus could have chosen another way to redeem humanity. He's God, of course He could have. But what He decided upon, was to draw near to us, in the flesh. Wow.

As we've been "brought near by the blood of Christ," I want us not to just think of that as blood SHED, but the blood coursing through the veins of Jesus the baby, Jesus the toddler, Jesus the teenager, Jesus the 30-something...Jesus's sacrifice of His rightful place in heaven is just as significant as the sacrifice He made on the cross.

If that doesn't fill you with HOPE, I don't know what will.

Hope as believers know it isn't wishing something WILL happen, with crossed fingers and trepidation. It's knowing that it WILL happen, and trusting God to bridge the gap between the "not yet" and the "now." Advent is essentially a time of "not yet" and we have an opportunity to reflect on the hope of Christ THEN as we long for the hope of Christ NOW.

Dear Lord,

We are so grateful and humbled by all the ways you choose to draw near to us. We pray you rekindle our hope as we journey from the "not yet" of Christmas, to the commemoration of that miraculous day where you came to Earth as a helpless baby. Help us draw nearer still to YOU this month.

Amen.