Verses
Luke 2:10 - "And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."Psalm 4:7 - "You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound."
In our third installment of our Advent series we are going to look at the JOY which comes from the birth of Christ.
Good News
In a fallen and broken world, it is often hard to find news that brings Joy. All around us it seems we are constantly bombarded with news that rips apart our heart and makes us wonder if there is anything good, anything that we can smile about. We are so accustomed to hearing the same stories of darkness it becomes very hard to see the light.
We could imagine that is how the people of Israel felt as well. At the very beginning of their history in Abraham, God promised them that through their line the world would be blessed (Gen. 12). God continued to remind them throughout the coming years, "I have made a promise to bring someone who will renew everything and be a blessing to all people." We see this in His words to Moses (Ex. 19), David (2 Sam. 7), and through the Prophets (Jer. 31). Now, many many years later, after slavery and national destruction they sit under Roman rule wondering when this promise might come true. They are waiting on the edge of their seat for some Good News! News that will bring peace, hope, and especially Joy.
And then.....after years of waiting. The Son of God is born in the midst of animals in a small town of Israel. Finally, the angels proclaim that, "I bring you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY that will be for ALL THE PEOPLE." The good news for us is that we don't have to wait. We celebrate Christmas to remember that Jesus has already brought amazing Joy to us.
Great Joy
Why is this good news such a great Joy for the world? There are many answers to this question, but today, we would like to highlight just one. The reason that the arrival of Christ provides us with so much Joy is because through Him our sins would be totally wiped clean. Christ was born so that we could be connected to God and no longer kept from Him because of our stains. If this good news doesn't bring you a deep sense of Joy, we don't really know what will.
So, imagine with us being at the very scene when Christ was born with the Shepherds in the field. Imagine hearing those words proclaimed by angels, "I bring you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY that will be for ALL THE PEOPLE," and ponder the awesomeness of a God who provides a way for us to be always connected to Him. All that is left is to Rejoice!
All the People
Lastly, we would like to make the point that this Joy is available for ALL people. Not just the ones that go to church every Sunday. Not just for the hockey players that play at a certain level. Not for just for the kids who do well at school......This Joy is made available for everybody. As the angel noted, "I bring you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY that will be for ALL THE PEOPLE." We hope and pray that you will be one of those people.
If you have never experienced this Joy and think you would like to find out more about it, please contact us and we will help answer any questions.
This Christmas season, let's remember that Christ came to give us a Joy that is unattainable by anything else.
