Joy To The World -- Part 1

In Joy To The World -- Part 0, I noted that the opposite of Joy isn't sorrow or sadness, joy is the absence of fear.

Two of the most joyous stories in history -- of lasting joy -- are the story of Christmas, and the story of liberty and freedom. This is the story of Christmas.



Linus is reciting from Luke 2:8~14, which includes,

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 

 Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

No doubt the Jews of the day took this to mean another political, military and spiritual leader who would throw off their Roman oppressors and give them the @$$-kicking they so richly deserve -- someone along the lines of Moses or David. However, as Jesus grew to adulthood, it became evident that he took scant interest in issues political and military. It was more along the lines of, "yes, you're oppressed, but pretty soon you'll be dead, and that's where the real trouble starts". 

It was more along these lines (John 3:16):

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For a bunch of humans who could never live up to the ten commandments, this removed a big element of fear. This is not some superstitious mumbo-jumbo, although it is often interpreted that way.  Sometimes, the words get in the way of big concepts. As my son Arthur simply put it, "If you stand with Jesus, you'll have the strength to face death." (he's home schooled).

To put a little different perspective on it, none of us has any experience with not being alive. We don't remember anything at birth or before, and only one person has ever reported back to humanity what it's like after death. It's scary. Fearsome, even. Having a way to face death would remove that fear. Joy!

In Joy To The World -- Part 2, I'll talk about liberty and freedom.