What Christmas gift from your childhood do you remember the most?
The year was 1983. I had given Mom a variety of gifts that she could potentially choose from. It takes a kid a few years to figure out this strategy, but I had high hopes of receiving the one thing I asked for: a massive Lego castle set.
The big day came, and I rushed to open my presents. As I rumbled through the packages, I received a variety of very practical gifts. There were some really nice shirts and knee-high, three-stripe socks that would make me the envy of third grade. There were a few other presents that I’m sure were decent toys, but I was looking for that one big gift. Disappointment began to set in and hope faded away as the gifts dwindled down to one small box.
The year 2020 will go down in history. It may have been one of the most difficult of your lifetime. A worldwide pandemic, racial unrest, riots, canceled church services, online school, and the most polarizing political battle in recent history will forever be remembered when we think of 2020. Words that will describe this time include isolation, protests, cancel culture, and social distance.
However, 2020 is not yet over. There is still hope that this year could end better than you ever expected. In a manger, roughly 2,000 years ago, a baby burst on the scene who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. That night an unlikely group of shepherds received the greatest gift of all time and were the first to have the privilege to tell the story.
I opened the last small package under the tree and inside was a note. It told me to go to another location in the house, where I found another gift with a note inside. Each gift led me to another, until finally there it was behind the chair: a Lego castle complete with a king!
There is only one month left to help make 2020 go down in history as the best year of your lost friend’s life. It could be the year they remember as the year their life was transformed. Help them make sense of this broken world through the hope found only in Jesus. Share hope, and turn 2020 from a year of brokenness to the year of hope.