2026 Theme Spotlights Jesus As Source of Hope
- John Grys
- Dec 4
- 2 min read
2026 THEME:
Experiencing the Lord of Hope
John Grys
President
This is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of the Child who provided a reset for all things. His life makes it possible for all to live fully. And because He arrived amidst such terrible circumstances, we can be amidst terrible circumstances and still find a way through them. Darkness has served at times as the condition from whence light arrives.
Because light arose from darkness (Genesis 1) as a first act of creation and because light arose from darkness as a first act of re-creation (John 1.5), there is a grounding and movement in history. The emphasis of the full life offered to us through the coming of the Child provides the glorious opportunity for us to be people who are at a fundamental level Christ-centered and not crisis-centered.
But more is offered. My prayer and theme for the 2026 year is that we will experience the ongoing reality of the Lord of Hope. As we experience this ongoing reality of this Lord, my continued prayer is that we become people of Hope. Experiencing the Lord of Hope moves us to become people of Hope.
Hope is a stance toward the future. And in the case of those of us experiencing the Lord of Hope, as mentioned above, hope does have a foundation. Paul made this point when speaking about the resurrection to the church in Corinth. The abundance of evidence regarding our future anchors our daily lives into that which has come before. Is it possible that hope exists primarily because there appears to be an absence in the moment? Of course, the question must be asked, “What is the object of our hope?”
In their mammoth work, psychologists and professors Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman when laying out their categorization of character strengths and virtues placed “hope” within the larger category of “transcendence.” And by doing so, they have reminded us that the true object of hope must be something or Someone who is transcendent.
And we who follow Jesus realize this. Our truest, deepest, and most powerful hope find its object in the I Am. Because we are Christ, not crisis-centered, hope reigns in our soul. The deep work of the kingdom continues for we know that He who began a good work will bring it to completion. That is the object of our hope—the continued work by the Spirit today and tomorrow. And the reset occurred in the Baby in the Manger. And thus, it is possible to be Christ, not crisis-centered while experiencing the Lord of Hope. And thus, we become people of Hope in 2026.
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