By Dr. Barry L. Davis
One of my favorite Christmas shows is The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In that story, the ostracized old Grinch, who lived alone with his dog, high above Whoville, plots to spoil Christmas for the people of the village. But even after the Grinch steals their presents and decorations, the people of Whoville proceed with their joyous celebration nonetheless. Their gleeful singing leads the Grinch to repent and to return everything that he had taken. And even though he had committed larceny against the people of Whoville, they invite him and welcome him to join them in their celebratory meal. The people of Whoville are an apt illustration of the difference between happiness and joy. Even when all their possessions were stolen, no one could take away their joy.
Joy and Happiness are two different things. I can be happy because I had a good day at work, or because someone told me a funny joke, or because the weather is great for fishing. But joy runs much deeper than that – I can be joyful even when I’m not happy. Happiness is an emotion, a temporary feeling – true joy is an inherent sense of well-being and satisfaction that has its source in God. In the following scripture text, God imparts true joy to some common shepherds who were simply going about their business, guarding their sheep through the night. After we take a look at God’s impartation of joy over 2,000 years ago, we’ll answer two questions concerning this gift of Joy God desires to impart to us today:
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. – Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)
QUESTION #1 – WHAT BRINGS US JOY THIS CHRISTMAS?
The joy of the shepherds is evident, isn’t it? And the source of their joy comes from the miraculous encounter that they have just had with God. I’d like to propose to you that the shepherd’s source of joy is our source of joy – that this grand announcement of the birth of Christ is just as much for you and for me as it was for them. Let’s take a moment to examine our source of joy and to answer our question:
ANSWER: WE KNOW THAT GOD IS HERE
The angel gave the shepherds a sign: “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (v. 12). And what did the shepherds find?: “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger” (v. 16).
Of course they found the baby, but it wasn’t just any baby, the angel identified this child as “Christ, the Lord” (v.11). This is God wrapped in human flesh – God is here! He’s arrived on the scene! When the shepherds looked into the eyes of this child they were looking into the very eyes of God. The joy, the comfort, the assurance, of knowing that God is here, that He really cares, that He is reachable, and touchable, and knowable is cause for rejoicing. God was there then, and He is here now. God is just as reachable, and touchable, and knowable in the year 2002 as He was 2,000 years ago.
Once when Jesus was with His disciples He told them about the death He would soon face and the disciples became upset that Jesus would soon be leaving them. But Jesus reassured them, and us, with these words, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God…you know Him because He remains with you and is in you” (John 14:16-17, TEV). If you are a Christ follower, God the Holy Spirit should be just as real to you as God the Son was to the Shepherds many years ago. We have joy because we know that God is here.
ANSWER: WE KNOW THAT GOD SAVES
Even though the Shepherds were among the lowliest in the culture of Jesus’ day, God extended to them a personal invitation to come and see Jesus. That’s a bit similar to the way that a Roman Catholic priest in Chicago reaches out to prostitutes, who are among the lowliest in the society of today. Father Michael Pfleger offers prostitutes $20 for a half hour of their time. He then uses that time to tell the prostitutes the message about Jesus.
What is the message God is bringing to our ears today? It is the message the angel brought, “A Savior has been born!” It is the message that has been echoed from the time of Creation until today. It is the message that God invaded our planet in the Person of Jesus the Christ so that He could save us from our sins, and save us from ourselves, and save us from the wickedness, and death, and trouble, and chaos that surrounds us. We have joy this Christmas because we know that God is our Deliver.
ANSWER: WE KNOW THAT GOD’S PROMISES ARE TRUE
Sometimes a political candidate who wishes to be returned to office will say, "I stand on my record." Our faith stands on the record of what God has done, on the record of promises kept. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and discovering that God keeps his promises. This birth of the Christ child had been foretold by God many hundreds of years before the event actually took place. Let’s just look at one prophecy:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (Isa. 7:14).
God promised that Jesus would come, and He came exactly as promised. God has promised eternal life to all who place their faith in Jesus. God has promised every spiritual blessing in Christ. God has promised us a home with Him where we will dwell with Him forever.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).
For this reason we have joy this Christmas!
QUESTION #2 – HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO JOY?
Are we going to just sit back and do nothing, or is there some activation that needs to take place in our lives in response to the joy that God has brought us? Of course, we have to respond – let’s look at four specific answers to our question that will teach us how we can.
ANSWER: IN ACCEPTANCE
Suppose that on Christmas morning I wake up and gather with my family around the Christmas tree and we begin to exchange gifts. To my surprise when it comes my turn to receive a gift, my wife hands me the keys to a brand new Dodge Viper that’s sitting out in the driveway. Now how would you expect me to react? I would run as fast as I could outside, start that baby up, and go roaring down the highway. But what if I reacted differently? What if I looked at the keys in my hand, paused, then handed them back to my wife, and told her I couldn’t accept the gift? Some of you guys reading this would think I was a little off my rocker.
But that’s what happens to some of us in response to God’s gift of joy. God is offering to us peace, forgiveness, eternal life, satisfaction…and we look at Him and say, “sorry, I just can’t accept the gift of Jesus Christ”. If you think it would be strange not to accept the Dodge Viper, how strange is it to not accept a gift that is worth a million times, a trillion times, more? The first response is to accept the gift by placing our trust in Jesus Christ.
ANSWER: IN WITNESS
David Buttrick tells about two Christmas cards he received one year. One had a traditional manger scene on the front, including a depiction of Jesus as a plump, cherubic infant. Inside that card were the words, “May the Christ child come into your heart at Christmas.” The second card he received was from a children’s aid organization. On the front of that card was a picture of a starving child in Africa, with a stomach bloated from malnutrition. Inside were the words, “Save the children.”
At Christmas it is so easy for us to become focused only on ourselves and on those who are closest to us. But the joy of Christmas requires us to recognize that God’s salvation is not only for us. What did the shepherds do immediately after seeing the Christ child?
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them (vv. 17-18).
Our response to joy is to spread the message of joy to others. The shepherds didn’t just stand around giving each other high fives – a response mechanism was triggered inside their hearts that made them go to others with the message of the gospel. And that same response mechanism is built into every Christ follower. We know deep down in our gut that God is calling us to spread the message of the Christ to the world around us – to respond to joy.
ANSWER: IN REFLECTION
Let’s leave the shepherds for a moment and consider the only words spoken about Mary: Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart (v. 19). When we “ponder” something, it doesn’t mean it goes in one ear and out the other. To ponder means to reflect for a period of time, to meditate, to absorb. Mary was taking all of the wonderful things that had been revealed about her child into consideration. In our response to joy it is necessary to take the time to reflect upon Who God is and what this great gift of Himself in human flesh means to us. It isn’t something that is going to impact you in a 30 minute sermon or a quick read through the Christmas story in the Bible. It means that we take the time that we have left on this planet and dedicate some of that time to pondering the great things of God. The more time you spend in reflection, the better you will understand God and your place in this world.
It’s kind of like dying a garment. If you dye it once it begins to take on a different color. But the longer you soak it and the more often you soak it, the more it takes on the color of the dye. The more time we take to reflect on God, the more we soak ourselves in His presence, the more we find ourselves thinking and acting like God. It is expected of us as we respond to joy.
ANSWER: IN WORSHIP
Can we return to my brand new Dodge Viper for a minute? My wife has given me the keys to the Viper, I’ve accepted them, and I’ve just returned home from tooling across the countryside at breakneck speed. What do I do when I see my wife? Of course, I thank her, I praise her for having such good taste in cars, I kiss her, and hug her, and tell her I love her. Now all that praise and good lovin’ is for a gift I’ve received that eventually will wear out, rust up, fall apart, and probably end up in a junkyard some day.
Now let’s compare this to our response to God’s gift of joy found in His Son. God has given me a gift that will never wear out, will never go away, that makes me whole, that fills the void in my life, that promises me forgiveness, eternal life, and a host of other things, and each and every promise is for eternity. How should I respond? Perhaps we could take another lesson from our shepherd friends?
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told (v. 20).
Why did they glorify and praise God? It was “for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” It should be difficult for us to have an encounter with God and not respond in worship! I can clasp my hands in prayer, I can clap my hands in applause, I can raise my hands in surrender, I can bend my knees in submission, I can dedicate my thoughts and my actions, all in worship to God as a response to Who He is, and what He has done through Jesus, and what He continues to do in my life. My response to joy must be with a heart, a mind, and hands and feet that worship.
In Men Who Met God, A.W. Tozer wrote, "What I am anxious to see in Christian believers is a beautiful paradox. I want to see in them the joy of finding God while at the same time they are blessedly pursuing Him. I want to see in them the great joy of having God yet always wanting Him."
That’s exactly what we’ve been considering as we approach the day of Christmas. We have found joy in God this Christmas, and our response to our discovery is to continually seek Him and to respond to His gift of joy. Ultimately this gift of joy from God is the gift of Himself. He is truly “the gift that keeps on giving.” Where is your heart this today? Is it filled with joy? Is it seeking to please God? Is it receptive, reflective, and filled with a desire to worship? If not, it can be. You might not have one present under the tree, but you can have the greatest gift of all.