The expectation of joy in Christ and the advance of his glorious kingdom ought to motivate us all to “attempt great things for God.” This optimism, grounded in the gospel of Christ, will prompt us to celebrate the first advent of Jesus, while living zealously anticipating his second advent.

When William Carey preached on Isaiah 54:2 in 1792 little did he know that his sermon application would catapult him from being a shoemaker in rural England to laying the groundwork for India’s national renaissance. Carey’s slogan was simple: Expect great things. Attempt great things.

His optimism was not merely self-help or the power of positive thinking. He knew that to “enlarge the tent, lengthen the chord and strengthen the stake” (cf. Isaiah 54:2) was to have an optimistic expectancy. Specifically, it was an expectation of great things from God, and attempting great things for God. Carey’s missionary philosophy expressed a very basic Christian view of expectation. The advent of Christ in the incarnation grounds all our godly expectancy. Christmas creates Christian optimism.

The trouble with optimism is that it can become escapist in a hurry. You see it happening with the expectation of Christmas. Some people get so excited for all things Christmas-y that it feels fake. When other people see that kind of over-enthusiasm, they can become grinchy, grouchy or otherwise depressed at Christmastime. Their hard lives don’t look very utopian compared to what some optimists might claim.

On the contrary, Christian expectancy is not escapist but realist.  Take for example the incarnation of Christ. When God the Son assumed human nature, he entered into a hostile, fallen world where he was under threat of murder. His enemies’ wicked intentions even forced his family to flee the country. All did not seem optimistic at that point.

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