Well, it’s the day
after Thanksgiving, which means that in the United States of America, it is
somehow officially or unofficially the “Christmas season.” However, when
Christmas comes to mind for me, it’s actually more than Black Friday shopping (which should make us all very "afraid") or Thanksgiving turkey dinner leftovers. It’s easy to see why Charlie
Brown, the character in the classic Charles Schultz comic strip, was depressed about
the secularism and commercialism of Christmas (if Charlie Brown could see us now!).
In the renown TV production, A Charlie Brown Christmas, the
confused Charlie Brown listens to Linus tell him what Christmas is all about as he quotes from the book of Luke in the Bible:
"'And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord
shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto
them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be
to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'"
In elementary school, we always recited this
passage from the Bible. Forty years ago it was expected that we would recite it, and it was an integral
part of our Christmas celebration! Never could I have imagined how things would
change in my lifetime. Quoting the Bible has gone from being expected to not
being allowed and even shunned. I took so much for granted—especially those words, “Fear not;
for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people…”
Jesus was and IS that JOY!
Life without Jesus…unimaginable! It is with Him that we have victory over all the evil and wrongdoing in this world and more importantly, we have victory over death in Jesus Christ.
“Fear not” and “fear nothing” … the victory is in Jesus, and this gives hope that brings joy. It has been said that sorrow is not the cause of not having joy…unbelief is the cause of not having true joy…We can have JOY now with Jesus Christ as our personal Savior knowing that when He comes again, we will know the perfect and undefiled joy of the Lord—forever!
Copyright 2013 Dr. Donna Earl Bridges
Mom, these are awesome and glorious truths! What joy it brings that God sent His Son and that we never have to fear! Thank you for teaching me about Jesus throughout my life!
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