Good News of a Great Joy!

 

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11 ESV).

 

Near the end of the Second World War, behind the enemy lines in Nazi Germany, there were prison camps, where American soldiers were kept. As was true in most of the camps, the prisoners were not well fed. Starving, thin, discouraged, wondering if they would ever go home again and see another Christmas, they could not imagine any good news. But suddenly one morning, everything had changed it seemed. They were still behind the fences. They were still not well fed. They were still very sick. And the guards noticed that they were happy. They were smiling, they were talking, they were gathering in little huddles. Every now and then you could hear a hoot from somewhere. The guards had no idea what was going on. A little transistor radio had been smuggled in, and the American POWs heard the news that the Allied forces had landed. They had triumphed. They were moving steadfastly inland, and it could be just days before their rescue, because liberation was happening.

 

The point is the power of good news. Nothing had changed except news. News awakened hope. That was the effect of the angles announcement (v. 11). We are very much like those prisoners because, as you look around the world, horrific things come into our lives all the time. And yet news has broken in, and it changes everything. In fact, the news of Christ as a Savior is better than the news of Allied troops beginning their march eastward. Many of these men knew they wouldn’t last until the liberation came. And so liberation for them, at the earthly level, meant nothing.

 

That’s not true for us. Whether we live or whether we die, because of Christmas and Good Friday and Easter, we will live. We have a great Savior. I pray that you know him and love him, and that when you sing a song like “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” your heart really does adore. Adore him for his absolute existence. Adore him for his infinite, omnipotent power. Through him all things were made. Adore him for his absolute power. Adore him for his infinite knowledge. Adore him for his present life and his promise to be with us to the end. You’re going to close this devotional and move along in your day, if you embrace him this Christmas as your Lord and the treasure of your life, you will walk with the good news of Jesus giving you hope for all of life’s trials!