Young Adults' Group

The Great Joy Of Christmas

by Pastor Mark
December 24, 2015

Experiencing great joy

Christmas is here. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas!

Christmas is a joyous occasion. It is a season to be joyful. Yet when we understand the significance of advent of Christ and how He came to bring light and life to all, our hearts are truly that much filled with joy.

And this Christmas, I experienced a great sense joy…especially when I saw my parents-in-law being baptised at last Sunday’s baptismal service. It was a joy that was really special. I truly thank God for calling dad and mum into His glorious kingdom.

The joy of the wisemen

I borrow the description that Matthew made concerning the joy that the wisemen felt when they saw the star again,”When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” (Matt 2:10) Along the way, the wisemen lost sight of the star. But after meeting King Herod at his palace, they found exceedingly great joy that they were following the star again. What was this joy that they had?

1. The grace of joy

The words “rejoiced” and “joy” in the Greek are both words whose roots are found in the word “charis” which means “grace”. This joy is something that stems from the grace of God. It is only through the giving of God’s grace and favour that joy is found.

I thank God for His grace and salvation that has been specially extended to my parents-in-law and to all of us. I saw the joy that was on their faces and I see it as something that was given to them and all of us out of the grace of God. Let us find grace that we may truly rejoice.

2. The greatness of joy

The word “great” in Greek is where you get the English word “mega”. The word “exceedingly” in Greek is “sphodra” which is to go all out, to go to the extreme. This joy that the wisemen had was an all out …extremely great joy.

There was indeed greatness of joy in my heart as I witness my parents-in-law baptism. It was truly priceless in seeing them enter into the kingdom of God and making a commitment to follow the Lord. My heart was extremely joyful. Let us all find this greatness of joy this Christmas.

3. The glory of joy

This joy that the wisemen had was something that could be seen. The glory of the joy of the wisemen was noted by the author. It was probably further manifested when the wisemen finally came to the Christ Child to worship Him. They had travelled far and wide to see Him. They came and fell before Him. They worshipped and presented significant gifts to Him. They probably worshipped him with exceedingly great joy.

This is the glory of joy that we should seek to manifest as we worship the Lord. Let us be challenged to work towards being exceedingly joyful this Christmas.

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