The Wishing Wall

The Wishing Wall

Christmas is synonymous with peace, love, joy and fellowship. Christmas reminds us to be generous and kind. Christmas celebrates the good, the beautiful, the pure and the holy. Christmas is associated with nativity scenes, shepherds, the wise men and the Baby Jesus. What the Baby Jesus represents is Christmas and all of the good feelings that we wish to feel are embodied in Him. Never was a baby's birth so significant - it was the promise fulfilled of a long-awaited Messiah and over his lifetime this promise would play out. It was the beginning of everything good for mankind.

Some saw the promise and the fulfillment of that promise of the little baby in the manger, but many couldn't see it. Some were angry with his birth and tried to kill him, to no avail. But he was preserved and kept; his life was guided by a divine hand.

At Christmas, though many may not be religious they want the promise and the beauty of Christmas. The wishing wall at a local mall is new; it's where you take a moment to write your wishes with the hope that they're fulfilled at Christmas. This wall is inspiring yet sad. Some of the wishes were heart wrenching - "I wish for my brother to walk" and some were comedic - many wishing misfortune on the President-Elect. Many needed resources for basic necessities and some were wishing for jobs or college acceptances. There were also wishes for world peace and love. Of course, there were also wishes for finding a girlfriend or boyfriend. Bystanders were drawn to the wall - many took it all in and many left their wishes also.

A wish is a prayer, a desire, a hope. Many of these wishes won't be fulfilled though there is some release in anonymously expressing a wish on a wall. But I hope this isn't it for most of these wishers. I hope they have something more to cling to and hold on to. I hope at Christmas this year it's a start to knowing the Christ of Christmas - that the little baby in a manger was the Son of God, who grew up and was crucified for each of us. I hope they know that he's the only religious deity that died and rose again and in Him is where true hope resides because nothing is impossible with God. I hope they recognize the love that someone had for them and made the ultimate sacrifice. I hope they realize that Immanuel, the Messiah - God with us, is here with us at Christmas and every day of the year. And I hope some of those wishes on the wishing wall come to fruition.

A sampling of wishes

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 

Luke 2:11 [NLT]

     
 Hope and love come with Christmas and go with every other day of the year. 

What are you hoping for at Christmas this year?

My favorite version of the Christmas story is found in Luke 2.