Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH
“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
Luke 2:10
Jesus is the source of joy.
On the surface, this sounds so simple, doesn’t it? But let’s unpack this statement a little more. If we truly believe that Jesus is the source of joy, this means neither our circumstances nor the people around us; neither our possessions nor our physical health; neither politics nor our bank accounts – are the source of joy.
While earthly blessings can bring us temporary joy, they are not intended to be the foundation or the ultimate source of our joy.
Lasting joy is found in and through a Person. His name is Jesus.
It’s one thing to agree with this truth in our minds, but it’s a total game-changer when it pierces our hearts.
Think about this:
From the moment of Jesus’ birth, heaven’s angels exploded with the exultation of gladness. They announced to the shepherds, “good news of great joy.” Where was this joy found? In a “baby wrapped in swaddling cloths” (Luke 2:12). That night, the shepherds rejoiced because of what God had done and was going to do through Jesus. Salvation would be offered to all people. This delighted the hearts of the shepherds, and they ran to be in His presence (Luke 2:16).
What kind of joy made the angels sing? GREAT joy! In the original Greek, the word is megales, which is the root of our English prefix, mega. So, in Jesus, we don’t just have a little joy. We have MEGA joy.
Let me illustrate it this way. Picture two cups next to each other. Both cups have the word ‘joy’ written on the outside. One is a tiny, 3 oz. Dixie cup, the kind of cup you sipped juice out of in preschool. The other is an extra-large, MEGA 64 oz. cup that you often find at a convenience store. The smaller one represents earthly joy. The jumbo-sized cup illustrates, ‘Jesus joy.’
Though the illustration is woefully inadequate, I hope it will help you remember the GREAT joy we have in Jesus. Christians possess a mega-sized joy that is truly GREATER than any kind of joy we may find in the world. Nothing, I mean, absolutely nothing, can “take away our joy” (John 16:22).
Octavius Winslow, a 19th-century Baptist pastor, beautifully articulates the GREAT joy we have in Jesus:
The child of God is, from necessity, a joyful man. His sins are forgiven, his soul is justified, his person is adopted, his trials are blessings, his conflicts are victories, his death is immortality, and his future is a heaven of inconceivable, unthought-of, untold, and endless blessedness – with such a God, such a Savior, and such a hope, is he not, ought he not, to be a joyful man? Who could possibly have more reason to rejoice than one who knows Jesus?
Ask yourself: “Have I truly experienced this kind of joy? Does my daily attitude reflect the joy I have in Jesus? Would those closest to me describe me as a joyful person?”
My prayer for all of us as we enter into the Christmas season is that, no matter our circumstances, we rejoice because Christ has come and He is the greatest Joy of all.
DIG DEEPER:
Read “The Joy of Worshiping Jesus” by Bryant Wright
