Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

We continue to savor the warmth of the Christmas season, remembering that the true spirit of Christmas involves worship, contentment, generosity, and love—attitudes and actions we need to display no matter what the season. Part of the true spirit of Christmas is also the hope it inspires in us of the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will come again—no longer the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger—but the “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).

Yes, the Babe from Bethlehem will return to the planet He once called home. But this time He will not come in humility; He will come in power. Just think of the tremendous changes that will take place when Jesus comes again! Faith will become sight, and hope will find its fulfillment in the wake of that eternal day! Until then, in each celebration of Christmas we are turning the lights on in anticipation of that glorious time.

Pastor and author Robert Russell tells the story of a family in their subdivision that kept their Christmas lights on long after the season was past. In fact, they were still on through January and the first of February. As the middle of February rolled around, Russell couldn’t help being a little critical. “If I were too lazy to take my Christmas lights down, I think I’d at least turn them off at night,” he thought. But about the middle of March a sign appeared outside the home that explained why they’d left the lights on. It said simply, “Welcome home, Jimmy.” Russell then learned that the family had a son in Vietnam, and they had unashamedly left their Christmas lights on in anticipation of his return.

Lights are a symbol of hope. And Christmas is one way we “keep the lights on,” anticipating His return. And when our Savior does return, “Peace on earth, good will toward men” will no longer be a hope or just a motto on a Christmas card. It will be the actual inheritance of all who “love His appearing” (II Timothy 4:8).

So at this season, and for all the days that are to come, our goal should be to keep the lights on in our hearts in anticipation of Christ’s coming. One day His promise, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself” (John 14:3), will be fulfilled. And when that time comes, the last Christmas morning will dawn—and never end! Praise the Lord!