Why We Rejoice in the Lord, Especially at Christmas!
This time of year, Christmas music is blaring E V E R Y W H E R E. Out shopping? Christmas music. Tuning out commercials? Christmas music. Scrolling through social media? Christmas music.
While many of these songs are catchy, they miss the whole purpose of Christmas. Mariah Carey focuses on the gift of a boyfriend, while others focus on the presents Santa brings, exchanging the joy of Christ's incarnation with a cheap substitute for temporary happiness. What a sad reality! However, as believers, we rejoice in the person and power of Christ Jesus, offering sinners the joy of His presence.
Think about some of the hymns we sing on Christmas Eve. Silent Night reminds us of the stillness of the night Christ, the Savior, was born in a manger. O Holy Night declares the holiness of the night where Christ was born, offering a thrill of hope to the weary soul now rejoicing. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing includes the joy of Christ reconciling God with sinners. Not to mention other classics such as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, Joy to the World, and Angels We Have Heard On High that we could dissect!
JOY is a theme we hear and think about this time of year due to Christ's birth. However, as a believer saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, praise God that joy isn't seasonal!
As believers, we can rejoice in knowing that before God made the world, He chose to send His Son to die on the Cross for our sins. This time of year, we specifically rejoice in Christ's birth as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. But the joy doesn't stop there. True joy stems from knowing the Savior and Messiah who saves sinners from their sins!
This message was what the angels first appeared to the shepherds declared. In Luke 2:10-11, the heavenly hosts proclaimed, "'Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'" Matthew 1:21-23 echoes this truth, stating, "‘She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” The angels could declare Christ's birth as good news of great joy for many reasons, one being that Christ would save wicked sinners from His wrath. But if this was the good news, what was the bad news?
In Psalm 16:11, King David declared this truth about joy: "'You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.'" Joy, not temporal happiness, anchors itself in God's presence. Furthermore, Paul mentions joy as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22. Clearly, joy and Jesus are connected! This truth is the good news. The bad news is the Garden of Eden separated us from His presence.
Genesis 3:23-24 outlines this reality. "Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." This action might seem harsh at face value, but it was incredibly loving. If Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life after the Fall, their actions would condemn them to eternal suffering. Placing them out of the Garden allowed redemption through Christ to save sinners from their sin, even while temporarily separated from His presence and joy.
Ephesians 2:12 confirms our separated reality: "Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." But praise be to God that the verse doesn't end there! Ephesians 2:13 declares, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." As the angels announced in Matthew and Luke, Christ's birth would bring salvation and joy to those who repent and believe. Hallelujah!
Ultimately, Isaiah 53:3-4 shows what Christ went through to redeem us. It says, "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." Christ bore the wrath of God on behalf of the believer. As a result of His suffering, we receive reconciliation with the Father.
These truths are what informed Paul's Philippian letter penned from prison. Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." We can rejoice in the Lord, for Christ reconciled us to God. AMEN!
This December, believers celebrate the joy of His birth, which led to His sinless life dying on the Cross. But, His story didn't end there, for He rose three days later, conquering the grave, death, and sin! So, this Christmas, don't let the commercialized "happiness" of the holiday drown out the life-changing truth of His joy. He died for you to have it, and it’s only available through Him.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Megan Gover is the executive director of Minted Truth, an online Bible study resource of middle school and high school girls. When she’s not meeting with teen girls at a local coffee shop or dreaming up a new adventure, she enjoys cuddling with her Goldendoodle pup while at home in North Texas. Connect with her on Instagram!