Let
earth receive her King;
Let
every heart prepare him room,
And
heaven and nature sing.
“Joy
to the world” is perhaps one of the more popular Christmas hymns that is probably
sung more than once each season. Were you aware of its unique heritage? Written
by Isaac Watts in 1719, it was based off of Psalm 98:4-9, Psalm 96:11-12, and Genesis
3:17-18. The song celebrates and highlights Christ’s second coming (Advent) as
the Prince of Peace much more than the first (birth/Messiah).
It
speaks as an expression of joy over the marvelous works of God to bring
salvation to the world through the babe of Bethlehem who is Christ the Lord. As
Psalm 96:11-12, tells us, “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be
glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant,
and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”
In
fact, if you want to get “super technical” with its “second coming” theme, it is
more appropriate to sing this hymn during the four weeks of the Advent season
than waiting until Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Interestingly enough, some
of the music written by Lowell Mason, to go with the words of Isaac Watts, were
derived from Handel’s “Messiah” music score. No wonder, with singing this song,
we can shout, “Hallelujah!”
The
logical conclusion to this information is to ask “do you have this joy?” Do you
know the Author of such Joy? Are you aware that Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
is the reason for bringing “Joy to the World?” Do you know how to have this
kind of joy?
I
think John has our answer. John 15:10-11, “If you keep my
commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands
and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and
that your joy may be complete.”
One
thing I have learned to appreciate in life is when there are requirements of me that they
are clearly written out so that I can understand them completely. If you want joy in
your life, John makes it very clear for us to understand. We must keep God’s commands and remain in
his love. If we’ll strive after these two things then our “joy may be complete.”
As you know, commands are not suggestions or helpful advice. They are a “must”
and a requirement. Here are a short list of those “must do” commands of Jesus….just
to name a few to get started:
- All who are not saved must repent (Matt 4:17)
- We must take the gospel into all the world (Matt 28:18-20),
- We must take up our cross and follow Him (Matt 16:24-25).
- We must believe that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:11),
- We must stay alert and always pray (Luke 21:36),
- We must love one another like Christ loved them (John 13:34-35), and
- We must pray for our enemies and those who persecute us (Matt 5:44-45).
There
is a lot expected of those who choose to accept and follow Jesus. This is why
it is so crucial to teach the way of salvation correctly. We don’t accept Jesus
as Savior just so we can go to Heaven when we die. Heaven is not a time-share
program to buy into.
We
accept Jesus because we want Jesus and because we want to be like Him, live
like Him while working daily to obey His commands, represent Him properly, and
tell others about His great love. Being a Christian is more about “who” we are
than “what” we are. It’s true that Christianity is a relationship and not a religion.
This is where love comes in.
We
must remain in His love. The word “remain” is important. The Greek verb used
here indicates “abiding” or “staying put.” This implies that there are no
intentions of ever leaving or going away. We must never neglect our
relationship with Jesus. This is the basis of John 15:4, “Remain in
me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is
severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”
Nothing
apart from Jesus will even be beneficial in life. We must deepen and grow our loving
relationship with Jesus. This deepening of love is not something you turn on
and off like a light switch. Love isn’t something that you can lose track of,
ignore, or sporadically attend to every now and then.
Being able to remain in God’s love definitely will not happen if all we do (in terms of our faith) is
go to Church on Sunday. You must invest. You must make a conscious effort. It
takes a willful choice to pursue such a loving relationship. It’s your choice.
Nobody can make you nor do it for you. You must want it enough to have it.
I
pray that you want to be more than just happy or just getting by with simply feeling
good. I pray that you want to experience full, satisfying, and complete joy.
Joy floods your heart and fills your soul. Joy consumes and transforms you
because joy comes from God through a relationship with Jesus empowered by the
Holy Spirit.
If
you want joy, surrender to Jesus Christ. Confess your sins that have broken
your relationship with God. Ask for forgiveness and receive Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior. Then continuously live for Jesus by deepening your relationship with
Christ through discipleship, worship, service, sacrifice, giving and loving. Never
stop. Keep going deeper. Jesus truly brought joy to the world…and it really is
the wonder of His love.