Why So Joyful, World?

The second fruit of the Spirit is, as much as love, a characteristic of the Christmas season. Joy! Joy everywhere! Joy to the world, in the words of the hymn. Even the very tune of this Christmas carol speaks of joy. Read again the lyrics in light of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Each verse contains a declaration of TRUTH and REALITY of Jesus Christ, and the rest of each verse is our response to that truth.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven and nature sing,

And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods,

Rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessing flow

Far as the curse is found,

Far as the curse is found,

Far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, wonders of His love.

The response to the Good News was joy from the beginning. Even the famous side characters of the Bible story – angels, shepherds, and wise men – responded that way:

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ~ Luke 2

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. ~ Matthew 2:10

Joy to the World! Yet . . . why so joyful? What is there about this event, this birth, this news to elicit such joy?

• The curse is broken. When sin entered into the world and death by sin, the world was cursed. In some mysterious fashion beyond the comprehension of human minds, God was born as a baby to bring total restoration of covenant. With God and man rejoined, the curse holds no power over us.
• Forgiveness. We’ve all made wrong choices and done something contrary to the nature of God. Yet we don’t have to suffer the ultimate consequences of our actions. God becoming man . . . this wonder produced a Baby who grew up able to receive the consequences of our actions in our stead. “Wow” is about the only response I can muster to that. That, and “Thank you!”
• Death, pain, and tears have a deadline. These things aren’t eternal. Through the birth of Jesus, the spiritual realm declared to the sorrows and hardships of the physical realm, “You do not reign. You are under Jesus’ feet. You shall end.” In turn, this grants us a steady, living hope through the sufferings of this life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s an eternal light from the Throne and an amazing new heaven and earth we can’t even begin to imagine!
• Freedom! True freedom is the ability to say no – to your self. When we can actually tell our flesh “no” instead of inevitably giving in to our desires, we are truly free. And this is completely possible through Jesus Christ who became a man.
• Relationship. Unfortunately, sin spoils relationships first. God and mankind, humans with humans – every relationship suffers the pain of misunderstanding, selfishness, pride, and so much more. Yet through God becoming man, relationship is restored between the loving Creator and His creation . . . and through this, finally there is hope for loving relationships between humans. We are doomed to tolerate the bad with the good in this blessing of relationships God has designed. There’s a way to truly live in joyful earthly relationships as He designed, and it starts with His birth in us.
• Abundant life. Jesus said it Himself: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Scripture also says, “This is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” We can live a full life – it’s exactly what God has designed for us. He is life, and He wants more for you than sin and sadness, or conflicts and struggles, or just getting through each day. Through His power, we can enter that state – in spite of struggles and tears.
• Victory. The Creator wins! He didn’t design His creation for a bad purpose or a bad ending, despite our wrong choices on the way. It’s the enemy who wants destruction, pain, and rebellion against God. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Yet through the Baby, God wins. There’s a “happily-ever-after” for Earth, and that begins now. At the foot of the manger, at the foot of the cross, at your feet as you make your daily decisions.

Indeed, JOY TO THE WORLD! Joy to you, joy to me! The Spirit of Jesus Christ living within us IS joy! Embrace it this season!

Come back tomorrow for The Peace of Our Daily Chaos.

Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here. 

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