Waiting on Hopeናሙና
A Child Is Born To Us
The prophesy proclaims the coming of the Messiah’s birth: a child who was born to us, the Son who was given to us. The ‘government shall be upon his shoulder’. He would be a great ruler. But He would not be like many earthly rulers who looked out for themselves, especially under Roman rule at that time.
Instead, this ruler is Wonderful Counsellor – who counsels us on the best paths for our lives. He is Mighty God. He is Immanuel, ‘God with us’ and through Him we can be made right with God. He is Everlasting Father – the one who provides for us, protects us, and sustains us. Finally, He is Prince of Peace. When the world is in turmoil, when governments attack each other, when diseases bring uncertainty, He is our only hope. That hope is the anchor for every believer’s soul, bringing stability in the rough waters of life, and the assurance that we can cling to Him in a world that is increasingly unstable.
But wait – there’s more. Isaiah wrote that this great ruler will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity. The Bible promises that, in the same way, we could anticipate ‘to us a child is born’, we can anticipate that He will also return to us. And it is this that is our ultimate hope. One day we will be ruled for all eternity by the one who gave His life for us, and we and all the world will know peace, because of the Prince of Peace.