Christmas is coming. Oh joy!

I know, the very title of my article might be enough to make you groan. What’s joyful about Christmas shopping on a busy Saturday afternoon, or writing a seemingly endless pile of Christmas cards? Even the grand switch on of Westbury’s Christmas Lights had to be postponed due to bad weather. Grim.

‘I wish it could be Christmas every day’ hollers the familiar seasonal song. Er, no thanks. Yes, there are good things too, like spending time with friends and family, giving and receiving gifts and a slap-up Christmas dinner. But the ‘season to be jolly’ soon passes.

We can recover the joy of Christmas when we remember the One who’s birth is celebrated on 25th December. The birth of Jesus Christ was a joyful event. The angel of the Lord told those old shepherds who watched their flocks by night,

“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11-12).

Jesus came to banish the misery of sin and death and give us the joy of salvation. This joy is not seasonal, or based on a passing mood. It is the lasting joy of sins forgiven through faith in Christ the Lord and the glad hope of everlasting life. You will be familiar with the car window sticker saying, ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’. Well, with Jesus, joy is for life, because of Christmas. We have ‘good tidings of great joy for all people’ - including you. 

* From an article in White Horse News.