Now that the goings and doings of Christmas are past, it might be a good time to think about what Christmas really is all about as we are facing another New Year.

The movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” has become a classic Christmas movie because it promotes biblical values that used to be part of the fabric of our national identity. Love, caring for those in need, standing against wrongdoing and personal sacrifice for the sake of others.

Great concepts, but they don’t express the wonder of God becoming man: He set aside the privileges of deity and…became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion. (Philippians 2:7-8 The Message)

We are told Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2) and that He came because “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) God’s love is defined as follows:  

Patient…kind…not envious… does not brag…is not puffed up…not rude…not self-serving…not easily angered or resentful… not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8^a)

This One who embodies Love has given us promises in the Bible that He will keep. Here are a few from Jesus:

“I have come that they may have life and that more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.” (John 14:27)  

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 17:11)

“In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage – I have conquered the world.”  (John 16:33)

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

From Paul’s letters:

Paul describes the peace Jesus gives as “peace that surpasses all understanding”. (Philippians 4:7)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, (2 Corinthians 1:3).

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Are these verses only words or can they bring new (previously unknown) life into someone’s heart?  As we face 2026, I offer a challenge to you: spend some time wondering about these promises and the One who made them. To wonder means to be curious to know something and to feel admiration and amazement about something.

Do any of these promises resonate deeply inside you? Should you dare to entertain any hope that these words convey Truth? One last promise:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)

My prayer is that 2026 will be beginning of a wonder-filled life in which we see the promises of God fulfilled in ways we could never have imagined.

Victoria Van Couvering is a member of Craig Assembly of God Church and co-leader of The Community Action Network. She can be reached at victoria_van_c@yahoo.com.