“Glory to God in the highest on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Does this verse stir your heart with joy and happiness?
If the angels announced the birth of Jesus with singing shouldn’t there be a song in our heart? Shouldn’t our heart be glad and our spirits rejoice? There are somber religionists who believe a smile upon the face of a child of God is a wicked thing and for a child of God to be glad and rejoice is to be inconsistent with the Bible. Those who make this ridiculous claim should have been there when the angel announced the birth of Jesus. They sang at His birth though it was of no concern of theirs. If angels sang certainly men ought to sing about the birth of Jesus as long as they live, when they die, and when they live in heaven for ever.
The Son of God did not come to earth to take away our joy and happiness. He came to make our lives more joyful and happy. The angels didn’t announce the birth of Jesus with groans, sobs, and sights. They shouted “Glory to God in the highest.” We need to imitate them. We should always try to be cheerful. We should always rejoice in the Lord. We should not be ashamed to express the joy and happiness in our heart. Joy and happiness is not a wicked thing. The damned are miserable; let the saved rejoice. Why should we, who have been redeemed, hold fellowship with the lost by feelings of perpetual mourning? Why not rather anticipate the joys of heaven, and begin to sing on earth that song which we will never end?
When the Son of God came on this earth God didn’t send a forlorn creature down from heave, if there is such a creature there to sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men,” and with a frowning brow and stammering tongue he delivered his message. If God would have sent such a creature the shepherds wouldn’t have believed his message. When the angels came to announce the birth of Jesus and praise God there was no doubting by the shepherds that what they said was the truth, because it was very clear the angels believed it; they told it as if they believed it, for they told it with singing, with joy and gladness.
In the message from heaven to the shepherds there are some prophetic utterances. They are contained in the words, “peace on earth, and good will toward men.”
When we look at the present state of the world we see the have lording it over the have not. We see pagans bowing before their idols. We see professing Christians joining in the worship of idols. We see men and women selling their souls for the pleasures of this world. We see God forgotten and His name dishonored. We see wars and hear rumors of war. Men have not turned their swords into a ploughshare and their spears into pruning-hooks. War still reigns.
They angels sang about a brighter day. In a few more years He that is to come shall come. He will cast the kings from their thrones. He will cast down every form of heresy and every idol. He shall reign over the earth with infinite authority. No strife shall exist. The lion shall eat hay as the ox. The leopard shall down with the lamb. The weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den and play with the asp and not be harmed. The hour is approaching when with the trumpets and with clouds of glory He shall come for whom we look for with joyous expectation, whose coming shall be glory to His redeemed and confusion to His enemies.
While we wait for and look for the coming of the Prince of peace let each of us this Christmas time strive to be kind to others and if we have lived all this year at enmity with God, let us pray that by His Spirit He may give us peace with Him and this will indeed be the merriest Christmas we ever had in all our lives.
