Advent: The Joy of Good News

Advent: Week 3, Day 4

Light all three purple candles.
Read: Isaiah 52:7-10.

"How lovely on the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who announces peace and brings good news of happiness,
Who announces salvation, and says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"
Listen! Your watchmen lift up [their] voices,
They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes
When the LORD restores Zion." (Isaiah 52:7-8)

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There is little that beats the arrival of good news. Truly, the arrival of a good word can lift someone's spirits or fill them with joy. Just like the birth of a child.

My dad was a student in seminary when I was born back in 1976. Dallas Theological Seminary is located just east of downtown Dallas and the hospital was about three blocks away from seminary. My mother went into labor in the early morning hours and I was born before dawn. When my dad showed up at the seminary that afternoon he told his mentor and boss, Mike Reese, about my birth and Mr. Reese broke down in tears. The news was so wonderful to him that he cried tears of joy. His reaction really left an impression on my father.

Good news has a way of doing that. It leaves its mark on us, chasing away our fears. It lifts the branches of our hearts off the ground, dusting them off and setting them free to wave in the breeze. I'm reminded of the shepherds of Bethlehem, minding their own business in the fields when an angel broke to them the good news of messiah's birth. After they picked themselves off the ground, their hearts were filled with joy and they rushed to see the holy Babe in the manger.

When was the last time you rejoiced at the hearing of good news? Has it been awhile? Or just recently? This Christmas be sure to let the joy of Jesus' birth reflect in both your heart and your actions.

Be God's.