My son made the point of
scheduling the day off from work today so that he could enjoy the kids and all
the fun they would have exploring and trying out their new presents. After all the hubbub and packed schedule
yesterday, he felt that today’s rest would be really appreciated! Years back when our kids were young, I
many times took the week off after Christmas so I could also enjoy the
aftermath of all the Holiday activities with my wife and kids.
This year was a little
different. I wasn’t really too sure what
to expect from the Christmas gatherings and events. My wife’s condition and the recent passing of
my Mom seem to put a damper on everything.
Piper was quite out of it yesterday and I spent the majority of the time
with the family at her folks by her side attending to her needs. But just being with everyone and observing
the antics of the little kids was uplifting.
Last night was a rough night and I ended up only getting about three
hours sleep, so needless to say, today did not start off with much zing!
But as I sat at my desk while
the morning light was beginning to take away the dark shadows of the night, the
word “JOY!”
began to resonate within me. I had three
of four Bible translations strewn around my workspace tables that were still
opened to Luke chapter two, and a quick glance brought me right to verse ten where
the angel of the Lord told the anxious shepherds “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all people.” (NIV) As my tired brain attempted to comprehend
those words, I suddenly realized that Christmas Day is just the beginning and
not the end of the JOY that the angel declared that night.
I also recalled a recent
conversation I had with a close friend.
We were talking about Mary in conjunction with our shared Catholic
upbringing and she mentioned that as a young girl, she thought of Jesus as sort
of a rebel. As I contemplated her words
this morning, I came to the stark realization that she was right! Jesus was a rebel! The angel declared a message to those lonely
shepherds that was totally radical to the Jewish beliefs of their day!
The Old Covenant was all
about the people’s actions toward God, while the Good
Tidings (or Good News) of great JOY was
all about God’s actions toward the people!
It told of God coming to them!
The message and more importantly the actions that Jesus took later on in
His life removed the veil between God and man.
They brought peace with God and allowed mankind the ability to live a JOYFUL
life in right relationship with a loving heavenly Father!
Talk about being able to
sit back and enjoy the gift of “righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NIV) following the events
of Christmas Day! That reality puts a
whole new spin on the meaning of Christmas and should completely remove any
vestige of the Christmas Blues! I would
encourage you to take a moment right now to think of all the effort you put out
in order to bless your family and friends for Christmas in light of what Jesus
did for you! In some respects you could
see yourself as one of His helpers in spreading His JOY to those whom your
life touches. And the best part is that
it didn’t end yesterday… It only just began!
So as the lyrics to an
old children’s Christmas song that I wrote many years ago say: ♫ “Put a smile on your face and praise the
Lord, praise the Lord, and praise the Lord.
Put a smile on your face and praise the Lord, Praise Him all day long!” ♪
Let your smile of JOY and praise to Him
shine forth throughout this next week and coming New Year, and allow your
presence to bring “good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all (the) people”
you meet! Stay in tune to His Word, and
keep asking yourself… “What JOYFUL Things am I expecting today?”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your thoughts are welcomed. Please keep them within the context and flavor of this blog.