Last Sunday for our time of worship in church, we sang Joy to the World. It has been spinning around my head ever since. Christmas time IS about the birth of Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of the world. Why should this not be the joyous season of the year? And why should all earth not receive her King? The answer, because receiving the King means we must give up ourselves. But in a world of instant internet gratification, and a population blinded by consumerism, it is easier to fool ourselves into rejecting what it true, so that we can live a life that is false, and yet, oh so gratifying.
It should come as no surprise that the King is rejected. Some reject simply as a matter of rejecting all things that represent authority. When the King not only wrote the laws from the foundation of the earth, knowing that they are all fulfilled by grace and love… AND, that only the King can rightly judge a man's heart – THAT my friend is authority. Some reject out of spite to the King, or to others who serve Him. Some reject Him because they think it can't be that easy, to simply believe by faith and be saved by grace. Still others other reject not because they do not believe that there is a God and Savior, but that they want it to be their own way, not His way.
What greater joy can there be, than to receive Christ? What greater joy can there be than for the WORLD to receive her King? We know this, and for the most part we live in a state of heightened awareness and great expectation of when that day comes. But for the lost, the only expectation in their lives may be the expectation of their next failure or loss. Where there is no hope, there is little joy. We, by the power of the gospel, have the ability to bring hope and joy. Not because of anything we have done or can do, but because the earth WILL receive her King!
When Jesus was born to his earthly mother and father, there was great expectation. Both Mary and Joseph had been warned by God's messengers that their son was to be special. A miraculous birth first to Zacharias and Elizabeth to signal His coming, and then to Joseph and Mary the miraculous birth of Jesus. This birth was expected by many Jews. It was expected by the Magi, and it was hoped for by every Israelite living under the burden of the Romans and their own sin. The angels heralded the birth, and the shepherds were some of the first to see Him. The lowly, dirty, smelly shepherds. My goodness, to have been there to see it!
If you have not received Jesus yet, receive Him now. 'Tis the season as they say. If you know someone who needs to receive their King, let them know of the joy in your life, and the reality of Christ living in you via the Holy Spirit. This year, let us all will to do our part to help the earth receive her King!
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