We live in a world of bad news. As I write, the BBC homepage has articles about war, Covid, shootings, and car accidents. Closer to home, health issues, relationship breakdowns, cars not starting, and more could all get us down without the right perspective.
Some “cope” by switching off the news, others suppress any emotion, still others fill their lives with busyness to escape. Perhaps, for many, Christmas is simply a good opportunity to escape for a couple of weeks. But it doesn’t last – soon January comes around and real-life hits again.
As Christians, we have something much better! A highlight of my year was carol singing on Sunday evening. We sang:
Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
This reminds us of the words in Luke 2:
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Christmas isn’t simply escaping reality for a couple of weeks but as we remember Jesus’ birth it is genuinely good news! The good news is for all. We all need rescuing because of our sin against God but He has provided the solution that everyone in the world needs: Jesus was not only born but born as the Saviour who would go to the cross for sinners.
Those who ‘prepare Him room’ will find great joy despite the bad news around us and look forward to endless life with no bad news.
Let’s rejoice in this over Christmas and look to tell others, remembering we do have really good news!
James Howlett