The story of Advent, the coming of the Messiah, is a story of love. It’s the story of Jesus giving up heaven to come to earth for us.

Most of the time, we don’t have to told to have joy and enjoy Christmas. The celebration of Jesus’ birth and the, “peace on earth, goodwill toward all men,” lead to joy.

When you read the Christmas story, there are a lot of trade-offs.

It has been said that happiness is an emotion, but joy is a decision. We feel happy, but we can choose joy. Happiness is determined by what happens around us, joy is formed within us.

Joy is one of the themes of Advent and is expressed throughout the story of Christ’s birth.

We tend to think that peace looks like a Bob Ross painting with “happy trees” and birds glide on the breeze. But I think peace, real peace, is something that sustains us in the middle of life’s commotion and challenges. Anyone can feel calm on a quiet day in a breezy meadow. But it takes real peace to handle the storms.

Jesus didn’t come to earth to ignore our pain and suffering and cover everything with a “happily ever after,” but to bring justice that would right all wrongs. He came to lay the groundwork for positive peace, the peace that will come one day when He returns and removes all of the conflicts that have plagued us since Adam and Eve rejected God’s command.

In the middle of many trials and sorrows (life), we can take heart and experience peace in Him. Why? Because like an overwhelming military force, Jesus has already won the battle.

When Jesus was born to bring “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” He didn’t show up to get people to play nice with each other. He came to bring reconciliation. He came to bring healing. He came to bring peace.

I’m sure you’ve experienced a situation where having a loved one present brought you peace and comfort. There’s something about having someone next to you that makes everything a little easier. It’s easier to push yourself when you have a partner, when you have the support of someone who loves you whether you hit a home run or strike out.

There’s a story in the Old Testament about three friends who supported each other as they made a huge, life-changing decision. Would they follow the king’s orders or God’s?

Many people view faith as a “shot-in-the-dark” hope that God is real and that God is good. But that’s not the hope that the Bible talks about. The hope the Bible describes is a hope based on history. It’s looking back at what God has already done in our lives so we can look forward (even when we can’t see what’s up there) with hope.

It’s such a hard thing, isn’t it? When we wait and hope for something, when we do everything right, but what we wanted doesn’t come through? My obsession with shoes is absolutely materialistic, but when you really want something, it’s still a bummer when it doesn’t happen.

In today’s passage, two men who had pinned all their hopes on Jesus have a long talk with him on a road trip, not realizing who they were talking to. Sometimes hope is right in front of us and we just can’t see it.