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"Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'"
(Luke 2:10-11)
Christmas is less than two weeks away, and what a wonderful time of the year it is. Last week, we looked at the first in the trilogy of Christmas messages I am sharing this year. The devotions were on Christmas Grace, the Incarnation, when God put on human flesh and dwelt among us, according to John 1:14. This week, we will look at Christmas Joy, and our text is a familiar one this time of year: Luke 2:10-11. Next week, we will focus on Christmas Peace. Grace, joy, and peace: I think all of us could use all of these Christian realities this Christmas Season and all year long.
Who would not want to focus on joy at Christmas? ...unless you are Ebenezer Scrooge, before his change of heart. Ashley and I were able to see The Christmas Carol at the ZACH Theatre here in Austin, and what a blessing that was. Our good friends, Terry and Debbie Hurt, have told us how excellent a performance it is, and I have been wanting to go for a while. We were not disappointed; in fact, we thoroughly enjoyed it. My favorite part is the transformation in ol' Scrooge's heart. He went from selfish to selfless, mean to sweet, bitter to joyful. There was an unexpected ending to the show that Ashley and I were so blessed to experience. One of the characters sang "Oh Holy Night", and people rose to their feet in applause. That song was followed by Chanel Haynes leading us in a very upbeat Joy to the World. I mean, the ZACH Theater was rocking with songs of praise to Jesus! I felt like we were in church.
As I reflect more deeply on what we experienced at the conclusion of The Christmas Carol, I cannot help but conclude that the joy we all had in that theater was the joy of Jesus; His kindness was showered upon all who were there. Did everyone recognize this sense of joy and happiness as coming from the Lord? No, not at all. There is no way of knowing who all were Christians. But you could not deny that there was something special happening. I attribute it to the sweet general revelation of grace that God showers upon all humanity.
One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5 is–yes, you guessed it–joy! God loves us and it is His will that all mankind not just have joy, but as the angel said in Luke 2:10, He wants us to have "great joy". True, lasting joy can only be found in God. Happiness is fleeting and based on circumstances, but not joy. Joy abides within us in every season of the soul. We can have joy on beautiful spring days when life is rosy, and we can have great joy in the cold, harsh winter nights of the soul. I wish I could have walked on the stage at the ZACH Theater and shared the Gospel of Jesus with everyone in attendance. I would have explained that what they were experiencing in those wonderful Christmas Carols was only a taste of the abiding joy God desires for everyone by having a relationship with His Son, Jesus. Jesus gives true Joy!
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