Lifelines:

It was an unlikely setting for such a topic. Jesus faced the prospects of imminent crucifixion. He would experience a rupture in His relationship with His Father that would shake the world. The consequences of sin would rip them apart. The suffering would be immeasurable. The nails through His flesh, as agonizing as they would be, could not compare to the spiritual upheaval about to take place. The setting was incredibly grim. Yet, He spoke to His apostles of joy (John 15:11).

An angelic declaration startled the peaceful countryside (Luke 2:8-11). It was night. Calm prevailed. Suddenly a heavenly messenger rattled the shepherds. Information like this does not come everyday, and fear was the last thing the angel wanted to share. Good news was on his script, and it was for everyone. Great joy was making its way into the world, and it was heaven sent. Oh, how God wants you and me to have it. He sent His Son to bring it.

This was no ordinary birth announcement. No, this was a Savior. What a mess sin had made of things. It ruined a perfect paradise. It infiltrated the first family, and turned brother against brother. Even a flood could not wash away the lingering stains. It degrades everything it touches, but God has a plan. A missionary was born among the animals, and joy was embodied in a baby. He came to retrieve us from the ruins. Good news of great joy…Suddenly there was an entire chorus. This was too much for a single angel.

The angels proclaimed it; Jesus delivered it and still most missed it. A few along the way figured it out but mostly there was opposition, rejection and eventually execution. Hardly the type of reception we would expect for someone on such a mission of mercy. Things have not changed. In the hustle of daily existence, people miss it. Joy is right here for the taking, and they do not grab it. They reach for a sedative, instead. Sad, huh?

The Lord put joy high on His list of spiritual benefits (Galatians 5:22). Extending the possibility was no small matter. Satan’s deception had stolen it from us. Sin buried it so deep that most of us could never find it. It took a cross and an empty tomb to salvage it, and Jesus wants us to have it so badly that that is precisely the road He traveled. Surely, none of us will refuse such a high priced gift.