The Prospect Of The Righteous

Proverbs 10:28 The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

As Christmas Day approaches, and I reflect back on Christmas Days of the past I can’t help but smile. I have been blessed. I can remember times in my childhood when the big day unfolded with opening a gift that held exactly what I wanted. The model racecar set that seemed to fill the entire room when it was set up is one of my fondest memories. Okay, there were also gifts of clothes from Great Grandma Bessie that bring balance to things. As a parent, my joy changed from being the receiver to the giver. My joy is found in putting a smile on the face of my kids. The memory of the snowboard and snowmobiling Christmas still warms my heart. The look of joy on their faces is captured for posterity in digital images on my computer. That Christmas is also remembered by my children, now grown, as one of their most cherished times together as a family. It is a time of joy that we all hold dear.  

The gift of joy that our Father in Heaven wishes you, me, and all mankind to have is wrapped up in the righteousness given to us through Jesus Christ.  Unwrapping that gift is pretty easy.  Faith is a requirement.  That faith is imparted to us by God our Father through His Holy Spirit.  The Triune God (Father-Son-Holy Spirit) work as the One True God to save us from sin and the separation from God that sin brings. The baby wrapped in cloths in the manger in Bethlehem long ago is the gift presented by a loving Father to all His children. We seek to open that gift when our time here on earth is at an end. By faith we stay connected to our Father.  We place our complete trust in His love through faith. And when our time comes we experience the joy of unwrapping the gift of Jesus at our end.  The wicked, as described in Proverbs 10:28 have a different fate awaiting them. Whatever false gods they have placed their hopes in, will in the end fail them. The false gospels pursued with lust and vigor will prove to have been in vain.  They will experience no joy. “The hopes of the wicked will come to nothing.” The interesting point is if you were to ask someone who is not a follower of Jesus Christ if they thought themselves to be were wicked you would most likely be told NO!  They are comfortable in denial of the reality and finality of sin.  Whether they chose not to believe in God, chase that false gospel, or follow a false god most will simply reject the idea of being wicked. But the standard for righteousness set by our Father in Heaven is perfection. It is a level of perfection that can only be gained through faith in Jesus Christ. And that is the true meaning of Christmas, the joy of Christmas we seek to unwrap. No other gift can compare.

  

PRAYER: Glorious God our Father You seek to share Your love with all mankind. Your love is so profound that it is beyond measure and beyond comprehension. We who are limited in our sight and understanding can lose sight of what Your love really means. Help us Lord to stay strong when told to turn away. Let Your grace fill our words when we speak of Your love to others. And on our final day we ask that the gift so lovingly paid for on the cross by Your Son Jesus Christ be opened for us and for all mankind. These things we ask in the name of Your Son our Savior, Amen.