Rejoice in the Lord
always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
I saw an article this morning that was titled “How to get
happy this Christmas”. I was struck at how ridiculous this article heading
seemed. It’s bringing to light that we actually need supplemental things to get
us happy during Christmas. Really? The birth of Christ…the rescue of man from
impending death…the restoration of the relationship between God and man…that
alone cannot get us to the point where we feel “happy”? No we need more, and it
seems completely ridiculous, yet it’s a reality of the broken world that we
live in. One of the real things we strive for as Christians is to be truly
content in Christ. We strive to truly find our sole source of joy, happiness,
peace, and contentment in Christ and Christ alone…nothing else. Yet it’s a
struggle and something that work for our entire lives. Paul writes in
Philippians 4, “I know what it is to be
in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of
being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want.” This is basically Paul saying that as long as
he has the Gospel…as long as he has the life saving grace purchased through
Christ…then he is at peace. No matter what his outward circumstances may be, he
is spiritually at peace…and that is all that matters to him. What a peace Paul
has found in the Lord…what a gift it is to be so wrapped up in our love for the
Lord that we are truly content, even if the world is crumbling around us (remember,
Paul wrote this from prison). As we move closer to the day of our Lord’s birth,
and the days get frenzied and stressful, may we take time to truly pause and
reflect on what it is that occurred in that manger so many years ago. In that
manger, God became man through an infant…giving the ultimate gift to man through
that child…eternal salvation, eternal peace, eternal happiness. All we truly
need in this life to really be happy is the unwavering promise that God made
through Christ…may that be our true source of joy this Christmas season. To God
alone be the glory!
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