“I bring you tidings of great joy” (Luke 2).
One of the most popular Christmas carols is “Joy to the World,” a hymn written by Isaac Watts in the early 1700s. What makes the story behind this hymn so remarkable is that Watts did not write it as a Christmas carol, but as a hymn based on a Psalm. Nothing in the hymn, for example, refers to Christ’s birth, the angels, shepherds or magi. Rather, the hymn is a celebration of the triumphant manifestation of Christ in the world—in our lives.
That is why Christmas cannot really be contained in a single day or a season. The joy of the gift of Jesus is a year-round celebration, more of a realization. It also has been said that love is the greatest of gifts, but it is joy that stirs our love. When we feel joy—the joy of a new day, friendship, the gratitude of work and play—then our hearts naturally explode and overflow with love. This is the joy Christ brings. It is the joy of salvation and hope experienced each day.
Consider your joys this Christmas season. What are they? How would you express this gratitude? What gift can you bring, what gift can you give, that truly expresses the elation of such an awesome gift in Jesus?
