“Then if the angels ushered in the gospel’s great head with singing, ought I not to preach with singing? And ought not my hearers to live with singing? Ought not their hearts to be glad and their spirits to rejoice?”
Perhaps this Christmas season is a difficult one for you. Maybe it reminds you of loved ones who are no longer part of your life, due to death or strained relationships.
Life can be hard in very real ways. While our problems may be many and varied, there is one main solution: Jesus. And Jesus—no one and nothing else—is at the heart of Christmas. Yes, family is precious and important. But the truth is, many families are fractured, and while we should make every effort to forgive and ask for forgiveness, sometimes we simply don’t have the power to change the hearts and desires of estranged family and friends.
This season can be a painful reminder of who is and isn’t in the room and at the table. One who was with us last year may now be gone from this world. Another may have chosen not to join the family to celebrate Christmas. They may be in pain, and the rest of the family may be experiencing pain and confusion or dismay.
Yet to those who love Him, “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
May we all be reminded of the angel’s message to the shepherds at Christ’s birth: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). The Greek adjective translated “great” here is megas—this isn’t just news, but good news of “mega-joy.”
This is the best news there has ever been or ever will be: because Jesus has come, in the end, life conquers death, joy triumphs over suffering. Happiness, not sorrow, has the last word—and it will have the last word forever. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
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