And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord (Luke 2: 10-11).
The birth and revelation of Christ is the cause of this great joy to all people. It is a great joy because it is manifested by Christ for peace among humanity, bringing down the walls of estrangement and hostility between nations, reconciling them to one another and, most importantly, to God (Colossians 1: 20) and establishing them as the church, a united community, to proclaim the everlasting joy of reconciliation to all the corners of the earth.
The Bible says also that this joy is for all people. In other words, no one is excluded from it. People of every race, every color, nationality and language are troubled by various kinds of personal, racial, cultural or ideological dogmas that hinder them from relationships characterised by peace with others. This joy is the joy of deliverance from a life of self-centeredness and an inexplicable joy in the midst of hostility, trouble, danger and darkness. It is the joy of deliverance from the spiritual death that separates one from others and God. Therefore, there will always be a perfect reason for everyone to join Christ and rejoice in His freedom; He is always ready to redeem and His unchanging Love, Counsel, Governance, promises and fellowship are always available and freely given.
The joy of being reconciled to God and to one another, and the joy of freedom from uncertainty and disharmony is a gift that must be expressed with loud voice and charisma to the world, especially in our time when terrorism, persecution, political correctness and self-centeredness are highly vocal, creating more fear and uncertainty in the world.
If we experienced the bitterness of clashes in the Middle-East, forced labor camps in communist countries, discrimination and humiliation over race and ideologies, we would want to stand on the roof of our houses, in the corner of streets, in public places and shout the joy of our freedom. The joy of freedom in Christ surpasses every other worldly joy since it is absolute, stems from the depth of our heart, flourishes into every dimension of our life and captures our entire being. It becomes our inseparable identity, with us in every circumstance, in abundance or in poverty, in acceptance or in rejection, in freedom or in prison, in loss or in gain. We therefore become its messengers to all, friends and foes alike.
Let us rejoice in Christ in all circumstances and be the heralds of His surpassing joy to the nations of the world.
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4: 4)
