Shortly after Jesus was born an angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds who were nearby and said:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
That is a very familiar passage of scripture to many of us and perhaps we gloss over it quickly without paying it much attention. There are some amazing truths in these words from the angel. I especially like the fact that we are told that this good news will cause great joy for all the people.
Currently there does not appear to be much good news or great joy around. Last Saturday many people’s Christmas plans were ruined following the announcement of tighter restrictions to combat the spread of the new variant of Covid-19. Sadly, due to the late change of government policy concerning Christmas, many of us will be facing a very different celebration this week then we had planned a few days ago.
However, whilst the government may have cancelled our planned Christmas celebrations, you cannot cancel Christmas itself. Why you might ask? Well because at Christmas we are remembering the birth of Jesus and that has already happened!
As we have seen in the verses from Luke, Jesus has already been born. And it is: “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
Maybe you are feeling fed up about your Christmas being ruined? Maybe you feel totally devastated at the end of a dreadful year? Maybe you have lost all hope?
Whatever your personal circumstances remember these three things:
- The birth of Jesus was and is still in 2020 good news.
- The birth of Jesus did cause great joy and will still in 2020 cause great joy.
- The birth of Jesus was and still is in 2020 for all the people.
This Christmas put your hope and trust in Jesus and know He is the “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
Still Learning 