Hope from Above
Thursday - December 17th
"Hope is Here" Advent Devotionals - Day 17
Scripture to Read Today: Luke 2:8-14
Suddenly a great company of
the heavenly host appeared
with the angel, praising God
and saying, "Glory to God
in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those
on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:13-14
Taking photos or videos with your phone out of an airplane's window is not a great idea; you can quickly lose your phone.
But one man who dropped his iPhone out of a plane was lucky enough to find it afterward in working condition. To the man's surprise, the phone took a video of the fall. The incident happened over Peró beach, some 100 miles east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Filmmaker Ernesto Galiotto dropped his iPhone 6 out of a plane on Friday, December 11th, from just about 1,000 feet high and found it intact the next morning. The phone's screen protector suffered damage, but the rest of the phone didn't get damaged at all. "It is something that, if you tell someone, they wouldn't believe you," Galiotto told Brazil's G1 news service.
Since Galiotto was taking a video when the iPhone left his hand, the device continued shooting video during the fall. Unfortunately, the video isn't that great; the phone was continually spinning, so the footage it took is just one big blur until the phone hits the sand. Check out the video over at G1's website.
Galiotto called the phone falling that far and that fast while still filming and suffering little damage, "A miracle from Heaven." While an interesting story, I think it is a bit much to call it that. The fact that we enjoy a real miracle from Heaven as we celebrate our Savior's birth this month shapes what defines a genuine miracle.
God the Son, leaving Heaven's throne room to walk among us as human beings truly is miraculous. Heaven came to earth. God walked among men. Christ's birth was so monumental that God sent angels from Heaven to announce His Son's birth. Heavenly messengers appeared to shepherds to announce the real Hope from above.
Many offer false hope in a person, a product, a service, or a movement that eventually shows imperfection in this dark and sin-filled world. People package and peddle hope all over the world. Anything tainted by human sin fails to provide the ultimate hope we all need. God knew this, and while we were still sinners, He sent Jesus - the true Hope of Heaven.
The Hope about which the angels sang is authentic, effective, and eternal. Our only hope is the Hope from above!