I realized that songs, good feelings, beautiful liturgies, nice presents, big dinners, and many sweet words do not make Christmas. Christmas is saying "yes" to something beyond all emotions and feelings. Christmas is saying "yes" to a hope based on God's initiative, which has nothing to do with what I think or feel. Christmas is believing that the salvation of the world is God's work, and not mine. —Henri Nouwen
Romans 8:24 (NIV) For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
Elesha Hodge, comp., Today's Best Illustrations – Volumes 1-4, (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today, 1997), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "CHRISTMAS".
