Good News of Timeless Joy (Advent 7, 2016)

Driving back from Florida over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we encountered 3 different traffic stoppages. Traffic on exit ramps had backed up onto the expressway. It was a total standstill. Why? “Black Friday” shoppers were out in force, waiting in long traffic lines at the malls, on the roads leading to the malls, and on the expressways leading to the roads that led to the malls. Not only was our temporal joy diminished due to the traffic, but I would imagine that at least some among the great throng of consumers were wondering if it was all worth it. Would the latest bargain actually provide a lasting joy…a Timeless joy? Probably not.  It’s a good thing that Timeless joy, real joy, isn’t so easily lost.

I began thinking of the Whos in Whoville and how on Christmas morning, they gathered and held hands and sang with joy in their hearts because of what Christmas is really all about…even minus the Grinch-stolen bargains: the snoozers, the orangutans, and the bamboozles… or whatever they were all called.

Which came first? Materialism or the secularism?

As I continued sitting in traffic trying to get home, I thought of an analogy. It’s like a syringe. When the plunger is removed, the thing of lesser substance gets sucked in to fill the void. Did we remove God from our lives and the Timeless joy His Savior brings… and material stuff simply replaced Him? Or did we focus so much on the temporal joys of what a bargain can bring, that we actually forced Christ out of Christmas?

I suppose it’s pretty fruitless to ask that question even if it did idle away the hours. The answer is simple: we need more of God and the Timeless Joy…the “good news of great joy for all the people” proclaimed by the angels…and less of the Black Friday bargains encroaching on Thanksgiving night and proclaimed by the Thanksgiving Day ad circulars.

Let’s seek after the greater things this Advent. His joy is Timeless!

For reflection, read Luke 2:8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

• What made the joy great?
• What makes it Timeless?
• What was the angels’ response?
• What was the response of the shepherds?

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Join me for Advent 2016 Devotionals called Timeless: the Message of Christmas for All Ages beginning November 27, 2106.  Timeless hope, encouragement, grace, peace, and love will be ours as we look into the Word, see the face of our Lord Jesus, and experience restoration in His presence.  His goodness and His Gospel are truly Timeless.

Advent began November 27, 2016.  If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the Advent devotionals automatically.  If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so.  Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings.  You don’t want to miss this great way to prepare your heart for the true meaning of Christmas!