The Christmas season awakens two distinct reasons for joy within me. First, there’s the sentimental reflection—cherished childhood memories with my family mixed with favorite traditions my wife and I created with our daughters. Then there’s the sacred meaning of Christ’s coming— the awe-inspiring truth that God, the invisible, became visible, entering our world through a miraculous virgin birth.

Both the sentimental and spiritual elements of Christmas hold immense beauty, yet it’s easy for their significance to become dulled by the familiarity of annual routines or overshadowed by the busyness of the season. Some holiday memories can be painful reminders of loss as we approach year’s end and can rob us of the joy we associate with Christmas.

This Christmas, I’m taking time to reflect on what truly ignites great joy within us, drawing from the powerful message the shepherds received (Lk. 2:8–14). An angel appeared to them, proclaiming, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (vv. 10–11). These “good tidings” that will cause “great joy” are rooted in profound reasons for genuine celebration.

God Remembers His Promises

Before the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds that the Messiah was born, Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied about God’s faithfulness (1:68–77). He declared that God had “visited and redeemed His people” and “raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets” (vv. 68–70). The Messiah’s incarnation was not a random act, but the fulfillment of ancient promises and an oath sworn to Abraham.

Zechariah declared that the Messiah was coming and that God remembered His covenant with Israel, promising salvation from their enemies and the ability to “serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness” (vv. 74–75). Jesus’ birth didn’t happen in a vacuum; it was the precise, long-awaited culmination of promises made centuries earlier to the Jewish people. The steadfast faithfulness of God, who kept His word to send a Deliverer, supplies great joy.

God Judges Perfectly and Provides a Way

In a world full of compromise and injustice, we desire for things to be made right. We long for perfect justice. When wrong is committed against us, our sense of fairness demands accountability.

But what about the debt we owe to our Creator, a debt we can never repay? Herein lies the truly Good News for those who have trusted Christ. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus exchanges our sin, shame, and guilt for His righteousness. When God the Father, in His justice, looks upon our names, He sees that our debt has been paid in full by His Son.

This unmerited favor, this free gift of salvation, provides astounding joy. God is a perfect Judge, yes, but also a perfect Father who loves us beyond measure. He freely gave His Son, Jesus freely gave Himself, and the Holy Spirit freely indwells us, empowering us to “know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12). We “have the mind of Christ” (v. 16), enabling us to discern spiritual realities and live a life of holiness, one that causes the unsaved to wonder about the love we share as brothers and sisters in Christ and the confidence we possess not in ourselves but in God’s wonderful plan of redemption.

Hope for the Future

Christmas signifies a confident hope in the future rooted in the person and work of Jesus. The apostle Peter wrote, “[Jesus], whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1:8–9). Such joy directly results from our soul’s salvation.

There’s nothing quite as moving as hearing a person’s story of coming to know the Lord. All believers in Christ have a unique testimony of the moment when the reality of our sin and our need for a Savior was met by God’s rich love. His magnificent plan of redemption didn’t begin on that first Christmas morning—it was promised long before. When Jesus the Messiah was born, the invisible God became visible, allowing us to see and understand the Father’s character through His Son (Jn. 1:14). Our God is gracious, personal, and intimately close, not a distant, unfeeling force.

This season presents an incredible opportunity to share this Good News with those who have not yet trusted in Jesus. They face a perfect Judge who cannot overlook their sins apart from their redemption. May the joy you’ve found in God’s love overflow into how you love others this season. Tell them your story of how Jesus changed you, for these life-changing truths are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14). Pray that they will look beyond the sentimental traditions of the season and that the Spirit would open their eyes to the truth of God’s Son, Jesus the Messiah.

This Christmas, let your great joy be a beacon that reflects the divine love that came down to dwell among us.