“...for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people.”

-Luke 2:10

The good news proclaimed by an angel was that God was providing for all mankind “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Through His death, burial and resurrection this good news became the gospel of Jesus Christ. J.C. Ryle gives us many reasons why this is good news and why it should bring great joy to our hearts:

“There is in the Gospel a complete provision or all the wants of man’s soul; there is a supply of everything that can be required to relieve spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst. Pardon, peace with God, lively hope in this world, glory in the world to come, - are set before us in rich abundance. He offers to take us into union with Himself, to restore us to the family of God as dear children, to clothe us with His own righteousness, to give us a place in His kingdom, and to present us faultless before His Fathers’ throne at the last day. The Gospel, in short, is an offer of food to the hungry, of joy to the mourner, of a home to the outcast, of a loving friend to the lost. It is glad tidings.”

Celebrate the birth of Christ with a heart full of joy! Be encouraged!

References: Luke 2:10; Luke 2:11; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Matthew, 1856