Each baby born into the world represents hope. Think about it: when parents choose to bring a child into the world, it’s an act of optimism—a belief that the future holds promise. Every generation dreams that their children will live fulfilling and meaningful lives. Yes, babies also bring sleepless nights and endless worries (we’ll leave that for another conversation), but at their core, they embody hope.
Today, hope feels scarce in many parts of the Western world. Declining birth rates reveal a growing fear—that the future is bleak, that our children may inherit a world filled with despair rather than joy. What’s fueling this crisis of hope?
A significant factor is the dominant worldview of secular humanism. This perspective, which denies the existence of God, places humanity at the center of meaning and hope. Yet, when the human spirit falters and society struggles, secular humanism leaves many feeling empty and directionless. Despite our unparalleled prosperity, technological advances, and wealth of information, we are more spiritually impoverished than ever. Our houses are bigger, but they feel emptier. We are more connected online, but lonelier in reality.
Hope, however, is essential. Without it, we cannot thrive. As the saying goes, you can survive fourteen days without food, two days without water, but not even two seconds without hope.
Thankfully, there are signs of a shift. Columnist Ross Douthat recently observed in The New York Times:
There is statistical evidence that the latest wave of secularization has reached some sort of limit. There is suggestive cultural evidence that secular liberalism has lost faith in itself, that many people miss not just religion’s moral vision but also its metaphysical horizons, that the arguments for religious belief might be getting a new hearing. Notre-Dame de Paris has been rebuilt from its ashes. – Ross Douthat, December 21, 2024
Remarkably, the rise of the “spiritual Nones” in the U.S. has plateaued after decades of rapid growth. Douthat suggests that a Christian revival may be on the horizon. He may be right.
The hope the world desperately needs will never be found in the hollow promises of secular humanism. True hope is found in the radical truth that there is a God—a God who created the cosmos, who placed the stars in the sky, and who breathes life into his creation. This same God entered our broken world as one of us, born as a baby in Bethlehem. His name is Jesus, and he is the hope that sustains us, the light that shines in the darkness.
Today, we celebrate his birth. Let this be a day of joyful reflection and renewed hope. God is moving, and his work is far from finished. Let us open our hearts to him and join in his mission.
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