The Christmas season above all others brings about a general euphoria that causes us to be lifted above our circumstances.

There is always the expectation of the children who look with wonder at the wrapped packages under the tree, or others who look to this season for some special happening that will revolutionize their life. Christmas also triggers a giving spirit unequaled at any other time. All of that is hope — the expectation of something good coming our way.

The term “Christmas” is rooted in Christ. The essence of Christmas is the giving of the Christ child. The Christ child, Jesus Christ, is the Messiah. The Messiah was and is the hope of Israel. He was and is the deliverer.

The nation of Israel had been mired in captivity, exile and occupation by foreign governments and general disarray for hundreds of years. The Messiah, the Holy One of God, was promised to lift Israel from all her misery to the status known only in the days of King David of old.

Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was and is not only the hope of Israel. He is the hope of the entire world. The gift of Jesus is best described in the gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him [as the Son of God] should not perish but have everlasting life.”

We and our fellow humans all around the world face many things: terrorism, health issues, financial deprivation, family discord, etc. And it is obvious that all of us face death. If we agree that death is the worst thing facing us, and there is hope beyond death, we are all lifted from whatever calamity we are facing.

Christmas is all about God coming to the earth so that he could die for our sins. God became man in Jesus Christ. Jesus was born to a young virgin named Mary. She was a virgin in that the Holy Child she was bearing was conceived not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore, this Child Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

It is our belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as our Messiah that lifts us out of our circumstances and gives us hope. Those who have hope in Christ live out that hope by their actions and cause others to have hope, because they see people who are not being crushed by what seems to crush everybody else.

If your hope is in Christ, be sure to communicate that to others. If you have not yet found hope in Christ, may this be the year that you meet the Messiah in a personal way.

Dan Puckett works with road team operations at Life Action Ministries in Buchanan.