That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.
"Don't be afraid! he said. I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord- has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the City of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth." (Luke 2:8-12.NLT- New Living Translation).
This is like the first burst of joy you have when you get to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. This joy later continues to grow and fill your heart as he reveals himself in your life and helps you grow.
The first and most surprising aspect of this joy is this: You can have this joy with life's ups and downs. It is also not dependent on you. It depends on God. The gospel, the good news is that
"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."(John 3:16).
God's love is unlimited towards you. He sent his only Son to die for you, so you can live with him forever. Really grasping what this means, is pure joy.
Let's stop and think: It's totally amazing that God, the Creator and Ruler of this awesome Universe would even care for this tiny planet in this small galaxy. His love is so much greater than we can even imagine, that he sent Jesus for the sake of each of us, so we can be saved from sin and death. He wants us to be with him forever with such fervent desire, that he paid the ultimate price.
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others-the armies of heaven- praising God:
"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth, to all whom God favors."(Luke 2:13-14).
In light of this greatest favor, the favor of the Everlasting, Almighty, Creator God ,Our Father in heaven, we feel very greatly blessed and eternally grateful, singing with Mary the mother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
Oh, how I praise the Lord. How I rejoice in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant and now generation after generation shall call me blessed.
For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me.
His mercy goes on from generation to generation,
To all who fear him.
His mighty arm does tremendous things!
How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!
He has taken princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands.
And how he has helped his servant Israel!
He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful.
For he has promised our ancestors- Abraham and his children-
To be merciful to them forever.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, his sacrifice on the cross at Calvary to pay for all our sins brings us to right standing with the Father. There is no other way to come to the Father, to have salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the resurrection and the life. After we repent and are baptized, we receive the Comforter, the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, we walk in newness of life as a born - again, Spirit-born and Spirit-filled child of God; serving him, worshiping him and declaring the good news to everyone.
(When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other,
"Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened which the Lord told us about. They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child just as the angel had said.)"(Luke 2: 15-20).
When we announce the good news and glorify and praise God we have the same joy the shepherds had. We also have great joy in thinking about the fact that Jesus is risen! He told the disciples of this joy. He told them that first they would be sad after his death, but after his resurrection, their grief would suddenly turn to wonderful joy upon seeing him again (John 16:20). Here is how he explained the joy of knowing that he is risen and he has defeated sin, Satan and death. In John 16:21-24 we see:
It will be like a woman experiencing the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives place to joy because now she has brought a new person into the world. You have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. At that time you won't have to ask me anything. The truth is, you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven't done this before. Ask using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.
Because we believe and love Jesus and because he now is with the father we rejoice as our requests are granted by the Father and we experience the tremendous love of the Father." (John 16:25-28).
Also we rejoice because Jesus Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33). We will rejoice when his glory shall be revealed, with fantastic gladness and exceeding joy (I Peter 4:3) and when we trust him we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter1:8).
Let's rejoice, trust Jesus, and celebrate the good news of great joy!
