By Denys Blackmore
One of the most beloved of all Christmas carols begins with the celebratory words, “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!” Perhaps you can hear those familiar musical notes ringing through your mind right now. Indeed, there is joy because the Lord has come. But there’s much more: There’s peace, there’s love, and there is hope. Not just a wish-it-were-so kind of longing but an enduring, unbreakable assurance. We can just as readily sing, “Hope to the world, the Lord is come!”
The message of Christmas is a message of hope. It is the timeless good news that the God of the universe chose to enter our world as a helpless baby. “The Word became flesh and lived among us.” And not only did He live among us; He also gave Himself for us. He became our Saviour. “For unto you is born this day…a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
For those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour, this season is so meaningful. It causes us to remember and reflect on the central, transforming truth of our lives—Christ in us, the hope of glory. And it reminds us that we must be faithful witnesses of this transformation. As Peter urged, “Be ready always to give an answer for the hope that lies within you.”
Jesus, the source of our hope, is the Lord of the harvest—the great global ingathering of souls. In recent years the pace of that harvest has begun to increase rapidly. In EHC’s worldwide ministry we’ve seen the annual number of responses go from 8 to 10 to over 12 million people. The responses in 2010 total over one million per month! This is awesome but it is humbling because we are mere mortals participating in God’s great work of rescuing human souls. God is at work in our own nation, as churches across Canada are reaching out to their communities with the message of Finding the Hope.
Jesus said that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached to all peoples and then the end shall come.” This is a literal statement attached to an ironclad promise. It is reinforced by all the other assurances He gave of empowerment and guidance to those who would fulfill His mandate. Nothing has happened to alter his charge or change His promise. The question each one of us must ask is, Will I be involved in getting the task done?
For almost 65 years, faithful Christians have said “yes” to that question by sharing the hope of Christ through the ministry of EHC. They have done so with one purpose paramount: To declare the Good News of Jesus among every people group on earth. Over the decades our strategies have varied, but our task has never changed from declaring the reality that Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The vision of EHC is to reach every person where they live with the message and influence of the Gospel. We fulfill that vision through home-to-home evangelistic initiatives designed to reach an entire nation. This demands research of the country and its peoples, prayer mobilization, leadership training, follow-up ministry, Christ Groups, national and international coordination, financial resources, literature, transportation and provision for humanitarian and community development assistance. It’s a big job!
In a chaotic world, with bad news all around, the Good News of Jesus is advancing as never before. More people can be reached today than at any point in history. The opportunities are greater than ever, but to seize this golden moment we need partners who are willing help share the hope with their faithful gifts and prayer. We pray that you will be one of those partners as we exclaim, “Hope to the world, the Lord is come!”
All gifts postmarked by Dec. 31 will be credited as 2010 charitable contributions. To make a gift via credit card, please call the EHC office at 1-800-265-7326.