Joy to the World?

Apologies for my silence of late. I’ve been busy with essays and carol concerts and present shopping and social events, etc etc. This time of year is a bit mad for everyone, isn’t it?

Well, I’m back now after having spent the past few days finishing off festive preparations and catching up on much-needed sleep. I’m profoundly grateful to be home for a few weeks as I really need the rest, but if you’re a student you probably know what I mean when I say that coming home is a bit weird. For one reason or another, it’s never quite what you think it will be; expectations don’t quite align with reality, but I’m readjusting.

I’m trusting God will provide a solution to my every problem and concern. Taking one day at a time and 

remembering to be thankful for every good thing (and there are so many) really makes all the difference.

What I’m about to say was coincidentally (or not!) pretty much summed up at church this morning by our speaker, but after jokingly telling him he stole my thunder, he told me that there’s no copywright on what I wanted to share.

This time of year is my almost favourite- I love Spring best of all, but the Christmas and New Year period comes pretty close. There’s so much to enjoy- from family, friends and food to decorating the tree, watching silly films and singing carols. And yes, I do quite like presents too.

None of these things would have any real purpose if we took the true message of Christmas away. I think if we truly grasped how ridiculously amazing the Christmas story is, we would be celebrating with ten times more enthusiasm. John 3: 16 tells it in short. God sent his own son Jesus Christ, to be born amongst men in a messed up, broken world. Born in the most humble of shelters, to an ordinary teenage girl, in a small town in Israel. Jesus, wholly Man, related to us, sharing in our sufferings, and yet was wholly God, healing the sick, showing compassion to the unloved. Through Jesus, the world got to hear the Good News- a Saviour born to free us from the punishment of separation from our Father. On a wooden cross, Jesus paid that price, and rising from the tomb he conquered sin and death.

This is God’s love for his creation; through Jesus, the relationship between God and Man, broken by sin, was mended. This is the greatest gift that ever was and ever will be given. John 10: 10 says ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly’. This ‘life’ includes Freedom to know this God, from whom everything good comes, and the promise of returning to the one who created us, who knows and loves us completely, for an eternity in a realm of perfection.

Maybe you’ve heard all this before and know it in the depths of your soul. Maybe you’ve heard it before but never really believed it was true. Maybe you think it sounds completely insane.

You might be asking how this could be such great news when there’s so much suffering on Earth. The recent Connecticut shootings. War. Poverty. Loneliness. Sickness. For many, many people, Christmas is not a time of joy.

So how can we really enjoy Christmas when there is all this pain in the world? A large part of it is being grateful for what we have; fully appreciate the food on your table, the presents under your tree, and the people around you. God loves to give us good things, but the richest blessings come when there is a thankful, rejoicing heart.

Several weeks ago, the pastor at my church spoke about the Kingdom of God, and how it is Here and also Not Yet. Jesus came to bring salvation, but he is coming again to make all things new. To make right a hurting world. Suffering is a part of this life, and we cannot make it all go away.

But. 

The Kingdom being ‘here’ means that though Jesus is not walking the Earth as Man any longer, the Holy Spirit dwells among us, working to free us from pain, from oppression, from guilt. And with that freedom comes the opportunity to love as we have been loved, to help ease all that suffering just a little bit.

This time of year does highlight the extremes of joy and pain in this world. The difference we can make to the lives of others may not seem much in the face of so much sadness, but let that never be a discouragement. Let’s be generous where we can, be it with time, money, patience or love. Not ‘because it’s Christmas’; there is always need. But if Jesus is truly Joy to the World, let’s respond to that message accordingly.

The happiest of Christmases to you all.

C.