Light and Joy

Light and Joy

When I thought about the light and joy of Christmas, I pictured the bright light, the glory of God, which the angels brought down from heaven.  They also brought comforting words to those terrified shepherds: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10

Messiah is Born

Great joy! The long-awaited Messiah is born! How incredible that on that day, we all received the gift. We need no special qualifications, no membership card, and no fancy credentials. He takes us as we are.  We only need to come to him with humble, open hearts and receive his gift.

His Star in the East

Great joy! God provided the light of a supernatural star to guide the Magi to his Son. “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” Matthew 2:10. The light and joy of his word lead us to experience joy in Christ in the same way today. It filled the Magi with joy to worship this new King. The result of our worship today is being filled with joy also.

Emmanuel, God With Us

Great joy! We celebrate Emmanuel, God with us, on Christmas Day! He came down from heaven and took on a physical body.  Jesus lived, taught, loved, challenged, healed, and sacrificed as a physical man because he knew it was the best way for us to really know him. He died a physical death for us so we can live with him forever. We are so blessed to live with the joy that knowledge brings.

The Gift of Jesus

Great joy! When we accept the gift of Jesus, we are sharing our life with Him. He lives in us, and the result is a light and joy- a wave of inner peace and happiness- that cannot be shaken by any of the circumstances of life.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” 1 Peter 1:8

We have an ornament on our Christmas tree from a long-ago Sunday school class art project.  It reads J-O-Y. If you look at the back of each star, it says “Jesus-Others-You”.

Jesus is our joy at Christmas; the “reason for the season.” He was born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago and lives in our hearts today, which brings us deep, inner joy.

Others bring Christmas joy too. Paul reminds us in Acts 20:35 of Jesus’ words that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” There is a joy that comes from generosity. We joyfully celebrate the most generous gift ever given. In turn, we want others to experience that same joy. We do that by giving to others. That’s the best part about gifts- there is joy in the giving and in the receiving.

You give joy and receive joy at Christmas. Not only with gifts, but when you spend the time to focus on yourself and your relationship with Jesus.

Do your words, thoughts, and actions reflect the joy of the Lord?

How can you nurture your relationship with Jesus to bring more joy into your life?

The joy of Christmas doesn’t have to fade with time. Spreading the joyous news of our Savior, giving with a joyful heart, and living with the joy of his forgiveness can be experienced daily.

We can truly say, “Joy to the World! The Lord has come!”

I’m praying for a very Merry and Blessed Christmas for each of you!

AnnMarie

Photo Credit: Pixabay, AnnMarie Anderson

1 thought on “Light and Joy”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top