Revealing Joy
Sunday December 1st marked the first day of the liturgical season of Advent. Advent, or “arrival”, is the time that those who believe in Christ commemorate the anticipation of the coming of Jesus Christ into the world which we celebrate on Christmas. As we enter into this important season, it serves us well to move from a time of considering gratitude and the implication that it has in the life of the Church to a time of considering the joy that we have when we are in Christ.
During his first message on “The Joy of Christmas”, Pastor Drew, lead pastor at The Church at Severn Run, asked a crucial question that is foundational for understanding the joy of Christmas and thus joy in the Christian life. Pastor Drew said, “God spoke. He gave His word. Do I believe it?”
As we consider our own lives and personal journeys of faith, many of us may have heard this and sat feeling a bit perplexed. Maybe we felt afraid to ask that question of ourselves. Or perhaps we were left feeling a bit like Jacob wrestling with God trying to determine what we truly believe in the midst of our struggles or circumstances. In truth, I can relate. A season of my own Christian life was marked by overwhelmed emotions surrounding various life circumstances. I can recall so vividly asking myself time and again “why can’t I just feel happy?”
Yet, God’s faithfulness to His people in revealing Himself is truly profound. It was that patient, merciful revelation of who God is and what He did in His son that has brought me personally, and many of you as well, to a point of a deeper, truth filled understanding about His love. The subsequent result of that ongoing revelation is a joy for life beyond that which I could have fathomed before.
Being honest with myself, my past inability to “feel happy” and see beyond the challenges of my own life while also claiming to be walking with Jesus came partly from a place of not really knowing what I believed. Perhaps you can relate to that; it’s likely most of us can at some point. The truth however is that we come to joy when we know the Word from the best place: God’s revelation to us, His beloved children, in His word.
The Gospel of John is the most theologically rich of the four Gospels, a place where we can prayerfully go to seek God’s presence and see so intentionally written the truth about our joy. John 1: 1-14 explicitly states for us where we, followers of Christ, obtain that joy – an enduring joy that allows us to face the circumstances of life with steadfastness. Pastor Drew spent a great deal of time going through several verses during his message, but the following points stand out and we must consider them seriously. John 1:1 states “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Words are incredibly powerful. They have the ability to communicate ideas, encourage and uplift, or tear down and discourage.
God was at the beginning and spoke Creation into existence. And with Him was the Son, whom John calls the Word. Our God is not a God who merely dictates to His creatures. His divine words were revealed throughout redemptive history culminating to the most joyful moment, when “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14). Our God walked among His people to have a relationship with us, to show himself to the world as the great I AM in the most humble of circumstances.
Jesus showed us how to live life abundantly in following Him. John 1: 4-5 states, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The Light of the world is what illuminates our circumstances! And it was this light, Jesus, who paid the debt as the sanctifying sacrifice for our sin on the cross. His life, death, and resurrection give us a hope and a future. This is the Gospel message, the good news that we can hold onto giving us joy this Christmas and every single day that we follow Him.
We must challenge ourselves this Christmas season to see that the veil was indeed torn; to believe that Jesus walked among us leaving heaven to live as a man in order to claim us for God as His own children whom he loves and cares for (John 1:12-13). The joy does come in the morning, but it is also lived everyday as we seek His presence and plant our lives on the firm foundation of
Jesus Christ.
May we all joyfully seek God’s revelation in our lives so that we may love well, live Jesus, and believe Big this Christmas season and every day moving forward.
KB