Church, this time of year should be a time filled with joy. Our great God and Savior came to earth and was born. Out in the middle of nowhere, to unknown parents, and in a region that was literally unknown to the larger world; God brought into existence “the Seed” that would crush the head of the serpent and finally free us from our sins. Our Lord went to a cross and shed his blood because we needed it but that could not happen until he was born. According to Philippians 2:7, Jesus sacrificed many things just so that he could be our Savior and he did it all for us. For that, we should all rejoice.

Do you realize that without the birth of Jesus, per scripture, we would not have a Savior? We would not have his teachings, his atoning sacrifice, and we would not have the hope of new life or eternity. All the promises of God would have gone unfulfilled without the birth of Jesus.

Some will argue that Jesus was not born in December but in my estimation that misses the point. In actuality, this is what is called “a red herring.” This is something that simply distracts from the bigger point which is that Christmas reminds us that God keeps his promises, a Savior was born, and both are great reasons to rejoice. Some people will spend a lot of time defending a bah-humbug attitude with ideas that are irrelevant to the point. Do not allow them to rob you of the joy and peace that God wants you to have. Chose to rejoice! Allow yourself to be filled with great joy and peace.

Notice what Matthew 2:10 says, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” The birth of Jesus was a source of great joy to the wise men who traveled from the east. They knew that God was doing something amazing for us and they were not afraid to rejoice in it. Do you seriously believe that Jesus will be upset or punish you for rejoicing over his coming?

Consider the words of Luke 2:8–14 which says, “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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Even the lowly shepherds were included in the celebratory news that the Savior, the promised Messiah was born.

The birth of Jesus was a source of great joy and thanksgiving for all people. It caused happiness for the shepherds, for Mary and Joseph, and even the multitudes of angels in heaven. The host of heaven rejoiced that God had sent His Son to redeem a sinful, lost world. So my question is why can we not celebrate it? God, Jesus, the Spirit, and the whole host of heaven rejoiced at the birth of Jesus. Am I not allowed to do the same!

Church, Christmas is a time to rejoice because with the birth of Jesus is the birth of our Hope.