Find your Christmas joy in Jesus
“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” (Hebrews 1:9)
What unique or special things does your family do to celebrate Christmas? Is it special food? Are there certain traditions? Are there special games or other activities?
Imagine that part of your Christmas celebration included dumping oil over people’s heads. How would that go over? How long would that tradition last? What would people think? Yes, that was indeed something which God’s people in Old Testament times did as part of their celebration of the major religious feasts which God had commanded them to observe. This was a unique feature of their celebration of the spiritual blessings God would give to the through the coming Savior.
Amid everything else which has become a part of Christmas, our verse for today calls us to remember that the greatest gift we receive today is not wrapped in paper or has a bright ribbon around it. Rather, the greatest gift we receive is the baby whose birthday we celebrate as we remember how he came wrapped in cloths then laid in a manger to begin his journey to the cross to pay for our sins. All of that is contained in the single word “righteousness” in the verse above. This reminds us that Jesus came to make us right with God by removing the stain and burden of our sin by his perfect life after he was born as a baby and with his payment for our sins with his death on the cross.
This is not a flashy or novel gift, but it is certainly expensive as it ultimately cost Jesus his life. Most of all, it is the gift we need the most, not just at Christmas, but every day of our lives.
This is a time of the year when we expect to and desire to have joy and happiness. But so often people struggle to find true and real happiness because of the mess which they have made of their lives, or the sins of others have made in their life.
That is why we can find real Christmas joy in Jesus as we know that all those sins are forgiven, or we can give joy to someone else by telling them that they are forgiven and there is no grudge held at Christmas.
The writer to the Hebrews uses that picture of dumping the oil of joy over someone’s head to show how God desires to give us real and meaningful joy in the gift which Jesus brings to us. It is my prayer that you have that joy today and every day of your life.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, with everything else going on around us at Christmas which often robs us of or keeps us from having real joy, I come to you and desire the gift which you give at Christmas. Let me know the joy of forgiveness and help me to give that joy of forgiveness to others that we may live in the peace which you came to bring. Bless our Christmas celebration to that end as we pray in your name. Amen.