“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Christmastime in our culture can be a tough time of year. As Christians, we struggle with those who miss the whole point of the celebration because they do not believe in Christ. Beyond that, there can be many hurdles to our joy shining through in this season. The holiday schedule can get hectic which often leads to stress. For those of us with illness, we often have enough trouble managing our heath without the additional burden of the social obligations that can exacerbate our symptoms in various ways. For some, it will be the first Christmas without a loved one…or a few. Others may have learned that this may be the last Christmas that they celebrate with a loved one as disease advances. The opportunities for Satan to jump in and help us lose our joy are varied and endless, but if we are truly going to celebrate and maintain our joy, we need to intentionally focus on why we are celebrating…the incarnation of Christ. This declaration of love bestowed upon us that brings us both joy and hope now and for eternity is the single source of our reason to celebrate. We celebrate because He came, He rules and He is righteous.
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” (1 John 5:11) Christ has come! He came to instruct us and then to save us. He has provided the way to salvation, the way to unity with God and the way to a better life than the world has to offer. In short He has fulfilled God’s promise and sacrificed Himself so that we can have a relationship with God. While many see the narrow path of faith as restrictive, it is, in reality, God’s gift of a better way…a way that “makes our joy full” (John 15:11) while leading us to a more fruitful and blessed existence in this life and an eternity with God. It is intended to draw us together in love with our fellow man and our Lord. In Christ’s coming, the door has been opened and the invitation has been given; accept it, live it and find joy and peace. John the Baptist, while still in the womb, recognized this and leapt for joy (Luke 1:44). He rejoiced because he knew that Jesus, among other titles, is: the Son of God, Emmanuel, the Lamb of God, the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Light of the world, the Righteous Judge, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Great High Priest, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, our Deliverer, our Redeemer, the Messiah, the Savior of the World and Mighty God. We would do well to focus on these truths and rejoice in the coming of Christ with inexpressible joy for what has been given to us.
“Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.’” (Revelation 11:15) After His resurrection, Christ ascended into heaven, sat at the right hand of God the Father and began His reign that will last for eternity. (Matthew 26:64, Luke 22:69, Ephesians 1:20, and Colossians 3:1) Too often, it seems that we forget this. Instead of focusing on Christ’s reign, we tend to give our attention to the influence of government leaders, bosses, the elite and those with influence, or dark forces like the drug lords, terrorists, and evil regimes. We allow human elements to draw our awareness away from the fact that God is always on His throne and in control accomplishing what He desires, in both His infinite wisdom and love. When the world or our circumstances seem out of control, we need to stop and intentionally remember that God has complete dominion and is working for His Glory and our good. Consequently, at this time of year we not only celebrate Christ’s coming, but also the fact that He now reigns with absolute authority and will for eternity.
“And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.’” (Revelation 15:3) Not only does Christ reign with complete authority, but He does it with righteousness and truth. His righteousness and truth extend to all areas of His reign including His role as our High Priest interceding for us, our Judge who executes true justice, and our Redeemer who has paid the price for that judgement on our behalf. We joyfully worship Christ now and always because His righteous acts are known to us, we believe them and find hope in them.
If you’re struggling to find or maintain your joy at this time of year, stop and remember that your Redeemer and King has come, He has paid the price for your sins…past, present and future, He reigns with all authority, and He does so with utter righteousness and truth. He is after all, Holy God. Believe it and allow God to fill you with all joy and peace and abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is what we celebrate and this is what brings us joy…lasting joy that carries us through the difficult times. Let this truth invade your heart and your mind and celebrate for you King has come.
Though you have not seen Him, love Him, and though you do not see Him now, believe in Him, and greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your soul.
Will