There’s no easy way to get away from Christmas nostalgia. Even if you turn off the radio so you don’t have to hear Bing sing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” or “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” one more time, memories of childhood Christmases pour in. Remember the time when you got just what you wanted? From my grandmother I remember the play soda fountain that I had starred four times in the F.A.O Schwarz catalog. Fortunately, my memory of the year when one of our sisters got the big gift is mighty dim and even brings a smile.
But as Martin B. Copenhaver wrote today in “Still Speaking”, the Christian message is not one of nostalgia, but one of hope, for, yes, the best is yet to come. How comforting this is. Sure, I have wonderful Christmas memories, memories that fill my heart, memories never to be forgotten, memories that enrich my faith. But the Christmas message of the hope of things to come, of things not seen, transforms nostalgia into hope that will never end, no matter where we are on life’s journey.
I saw this hope live in my mom right up until the end of her 101 years, and I believe it is with her now. God doesn’t leave us during this life, nor did God leave Mom when she took her last breath. Nothing nostalgic about that!! It’s hope that never dies.
From “Still Speaking,” December 26, 2100, by Marten B. Copenhaver. [email protected]
“In either case, nostalgia is always suspect from a Christian point of view. That's because we affirm that the good old days--even when they really were good--are nothing compared to what God has in store for us. Even the triumphs and joys of the past will be surpassed by what is to come. That is the understanding that allows the Apostle Paul to testify: "This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."”
But as Martin B. Copenhaver wrote today in “Still Speaking”, the Christian message is not one of nostalgia, but one of hope, for, yes, the best is yet to come. How comforting this is. Sure, I have wonderful Christmas memories, memories that fill my heart, memories never to be forgotten, memories that enrich my faith. But the Christmas message of the hope of things to come, of things not seen, transforms nostalgia into hope that will never end, no matter where we are on life’s journey.
I saw this hope live in my mom right up until the end of her 101 years, and I believe it is with her now. God doesn’t leave us during this life, nor did God leave Mom when she took her last breath. Nothing nostalgic about that!! It’s hope that never dies.
From “Still Speaking,” December 26, 2100, by Marten B. Copenhaver. [email protected]
“In either case, nostalgia is always suspect from a Christian point of view. That's because we affirm that the good old days--even when they really were good--are nothing compared to what God has in store for us. Even the triumphs and joys of the past will be surpassed by what is to come. That is the understanding that allows the Apostle Paul to testify: "This one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."”
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