Description

Luke 2:6–18

How to Return to Joy This Christmas Season

1. Jesus’ birth is about the good news of great joy to all people, regardless of circumstances. The shepherds were in some of the least desirable circumstances, seemingly trapped in an “unholy” lifestyle and distant from God in the eyes of those upholding the laws of religion at that time. Yet Jesus’ life begins with a new era being ushered in—that he would come for all people with news of great joy from heaven. Jesus’ birth is a reminder that God longs to find you and invite you into the joy of knowing him, even if you feel you can’t find him or ever experience joy based on the past or present.
2. Our shepherd reveals joy at the time we least expect it, in the places we aren’t looking for it, and in the activities of our lives that we think are outside the bounds of what we assume he can engage in. As he comes close, he then invites us in closer. True joy is not just knowing that Jesus brings joy on earth; it is drawing close enough to him to experience the joy of his Spirit in my day-to-day life through relationship. Information leads to transformation when I understand that the promise of Jesus is uncovered in the proximity of my life to his word and Spirit.
3. Joy is the key to unlocking peace in your life and the goodwill of godly, redemptive purpose that you find yourself in every day. I am freely given and then freely receive the joy of the Spirit of God, walk in the peace it brings, and understand I am now a carrier of goodwill to all people. True maturity is growing in my faith from fearful to joyful, in order to walk in the fruit of peace and goodwill.