by David Chadwick You don’t have to look far to find a headline blasting bad news. Bad news is everywhere. Wars and rumors of wars. Creation gone awry and groaning (Romans 8:22). Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes everywhere. Disease. Unabated anger in the streets. Division, disruption, and chaos seem to be the norm. Yesterday, we learned that the first miracle of Christmas was that it was a rescue mission. A valiant quest to rescue the crown of God’s creation, you and me, from the influence and power of the evil one. The Christmas season highlights this rescue mission. Today, we see that Christmas really is the opposite of bad news. It’s good news! From the earliest pages of the Old Testament, God promises a good and everlasting kingdom (Daniel 7). The First Coming of Jesus was to forgive us from our sins and to set the stage for good news to prevail for those who follow him. His Second Coming will be to establish a perfect world here. Upon salvation, we are grafted into a kingdom that brings hope and light in the midst of brokenness. We are also given the assurance of a Second Coming where a new heaven and new earth will be established and none of this bad news exists (Revelation 21:1). Heaven will be our eternal home. This is our HOPE and expectation. One day, the earth will be rid of all bad news. It will happen. Jesus said so. This is the very hope, and the second miracle that tells us the true meaning of Christmas! We are forever forgiven. Fully loved. God’s goodness in and through us. What good news!