We are often told to believe in ourselves, but when we take an honest look at humanity, we aren\u2019t left with much room for hope. Sure, we see good in the world with moments of groundbreaking achievements, acts of kindness and justice, and artistic displays of great beauty. But there is another side to humanity that can\u2019t be neatly swept under the rug, even during a time of year that encourages us to be merry and bright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the fall of humanity back in the garden of Eden, we live in a world broken by sin and subject to destruction and death (Romans 5:12). Our own current events confirm the effects of sin very much at-large in humanity today. Countries are at war with one another, violent crimes are reported every day on the news, human beings are still being trafficked, women don\u2019t feel safe in their own homes, children go to bed hungry, and individuals are discriminated against simply because of their sex or the color of their skin. Not only does humanity as a whole reveal undeniable brokenness, but so do our own relational strife, character flaws, and secret sins. We know our worst moments\u2014even if others don\u2019t\u2014and it leaves us wary towards ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we are to have hope, it can\u2019t be in humanity. It must be a hope for humanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Jesus, we find that hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though Adam acted in sin, leading to the fall of humanity, Christ lived sinlessly so that His sacrifice could restore humanity. He was faced with temptation just like Adam and Eve (and just like you and me) and yet, He did not sin (Matthew 4:1\u201311). He lived a spotless life to rescue us from our blemished ones. He was the perfect Lamb that was slain that we might experience atonement for our sins and newness of life! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During this Advent season, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate with hope. Our hope is not in humanity, and it\u2019s not in ourselves. We hope in Jesus, and as we remember His birth, we rejoice in knowing that sin isn\u2019t the end of the story for us. Because of Jesus, we hold on to an eternal hope, we find freedom from darkness as we follow our Savior, and we know that Jesus will one day return in all His glory to bring renewal to all things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, turn to Jesus for hope. The sins of humanity may leave you heartbroken and doubting. Your own weaknesses and temptations may leave you humbled and unsure. In Christ alone, you find true hope\u2014one you can depend on, rejoice in, and build life on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We are often told to believe in ourselves, but when we take an honest look at humanity, we aren\u2019t left with much room for hope. Sure, we see good in the world with moments of groundbreaking achievements, acts of kindness and justice, and artistic displays of great beauty. But there is another side to humanity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133,"featured_media":71560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent2024"],"acf":{"hero_background_image":false,"related_plans":[71574],"weekly_truth":false,"grace_day":false,"share_text":"#SheReadsTruth","devotional_text":"HOPE FOR HUMANITY<\/b>
\r\nby Nicole Smithee<\/i>
\r\n
We are often told to believe in ourselves, but when we take an honest look at humanity, we aren\u2019t left with much room for hope. Sure, we see good in the world with moments of groundbreaking achievements, acts of kindness and justice, and artistic displays of great beauty. But there is another side to humanity that can\u2019t be neatly swept under the rug, even during a time of year that encourages us to be merry and bright.<\/p>
\r\n
Since the fall of humanity back in the garden of Eden, we live in a world broken by sin and subject to destruction and death (Romans 5:12). Our own current events confirm the effects of sin very much at-large in humanity today. Countries are at war with one another, violent crimes are reported every day on the news, human beings are still being trafficked, women don\u2019t feel safe in their own homes, children go to bed hungry, and individuals are discriminated against simply because of their sex or the color of their skin. Not only does humanity as a whole reveal undeniable brokenness, but so do our own relational strife, character flaws, and secret sins. We know our worst moments\u2014even if others don\u2019t\u2014and it leaves us wary towards ourselves.<\/p>
\r\n
If we are to have hope, it can\u2019t be in humanity. It must be a hope for humanity.<\/p>
\r\n
In Jesus, we find that hope.<\/p>
\r\n
Though Adam acted in sin, leading to the fall of humanity, Christ lived sinlessly so that His sacrifice could restore humanity. He was faced with temptation just like Adam and Eve (and just like you and me) and yet, He did not sin (Matthew 4:1\u201311). He lived a spotless life to rescue us from our blemished ones. He was the perfect Lamb that was slain that we might experience atonement for our sins and newness of life!<\/p>
\r\n
During this Advent season, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we celebrate with hope. Our hope is not in humanity, and it\u2019s not in ourselves. We hope in Jesus, and as we remember His birth, we rejoice in knowing that sin isn\u2019t the end of the story for us. Because of Jesus, we hold on to an eternal hope, we find freedom from darkness as we follow our Savior, and we know that Jesus will one day return in all His glory to bring renewal to all things.<\/p>
\r\n
Today, turn to Jesus for hope. The sins of humanity may leave you heartbroken and doubting. Your own weaknesses and temptations may leave you humbled and unsure. In Christ alone, you find true hope\u2014one you can depend on, rejoice in, and build life on.<\/p>","share_image_height":"640","day_number":"3","scripture":"Genesis 3:1-10, Matthew 4:1-11, Romans 5:12-21, 1 Corinthians 15:45-49","available":true,"ad_banner_name":"","ad_banner_image":false,"ad_banner_url":"","songs":"","key_verse":"","key_verse_reference":"","background_image":false,"background_color":"#FBF7F3","scripture_references":false,"share_image":false,"author_name":"","author_bio":"","guest_social_media":false,"show_ad":true,"ad_override":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/133"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shereadstruth.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}