And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Luke 2:10
The Greek word for joy is chara. Joy is a feeling of inner gladness, delight or rejoicing. Joy in the New Testament is virtually always used to signify a feeling of "happiness" that is based on spiritual realities. This inner feeling of happiness is never linked to just favorable circumstances. It is a sense of elation that transcends all circumstances.
When I was growing up as a child, my parents did not have much money. My brothers and I knew we were loved and always looked forward to Christmas to see what kind of gifts we would receive. Notice, we looked forward to our gifts!
Every year, the night before Christmas, it was difficult for us to fall asleep because we were so excited about the following day. I am sure you can relate. As we opened our gifts we would be excited to play with these gifts.
But the excitement and elation that we experienced was not the joy that is talked about in the Bible. Our excitement was a direct result of having received what we wanted (our favorable circumstances) and if we would not have received anything on Christmas Day (unfavorable circumstances), we would not have been excited about it.
As a kid, I could never understand why my parents were so excited to see us open our gifts when most of the time they had very little to open themselves. Looking back on it now, it all makes sense to me. They were excited and filled with joy to be able to do something for the kids they loved. Their joy was having done something for someone else.
Today we celebrate that God placed His one and only Son in an embryo inside of a virgin. Yes, heaven came to earth that day and Jesus’ cousin, John, jumped in his mother’s womb on hearing the news.
Let the joy of His coming FILL YOU TODAY!
Merry Christmas!