Joy in the King!

By Contributing Writer, Yvonne Harink

One of the most profound of all the Christmas Songs is Issac Watts triumphant carol: Joy to the World, the LORD has come, Let earth receive her KING! At Christmas we not only celebrate the little babe in the manger; we also celebrate the mighty warrior who conquered evil and who would later ascend into heaven as KING. As King, He gives gifts to men; perfect gifts from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly  lights. (James 1:17)

The miracle of being created in the image of God is that we don’t just receive gifts. We actually exchange them. We were made for relationship, for covenant, for responding. It’s in the receiving and GIVING that something supernatural is produced: JOY

To use the words of Ann Voskamp: Joy is the realest reality, the fullest life, and joy is always given, never grasped. God gives gifts and I give thanks and I unwrap the gift given:  JOY.

Our KING gives us an infinite number of gifts. Today I want to unwrap just a few:

• Forgiveness - It is the gift of life, the gift of justification, which makes us whole, healed, and restored. With this gift we are able to give back, since our guilt, shame, and fear has been removed. When we forgive those who have sinned against us we experience JOY.
• Community – When we are right with God, He adopts us into his family. The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the first community, the foundational family, which makes all other relationships possible. When we are part of God’s family He uses us as instruments to make the family grow: through natural birth and super natural re-birth. Being God’s co-worker in the act of procreation produces divine JOY.
• Beauty - God placed us in a universe of color, design, form, and order. The whole earth is a reflection of God’s divine glory. Our job is to cultivate this earth, to build garden cities, and to discover the harmony, order, beauty, and design in God’s perfect universe. Any creative act done out of faith, to God’s glory, produces supernatural JOY.
• Food - God designed our existence to be regulated by our need for daily food. Our souls are comforted and our bodies nurtured as we gather regularly to enjoy the variety and wide assortment of colorful, nutritious fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, oils and so much more. Preparing the daily meals for our families and friends, engaging in acts of hospitality,  celebrating the Lord’s Supper with our church family…is a taste of eternal JOY.
• Music and Songs were a special secret God placed in this universe. He gave us his own divine poetry, intimate prayers, and profound psychology in the Psalms of the Bible. When we praise God in song and discover the rhythm, melody, and harmony of music in the universe, our souls are filled with divine JOY.
• His Story – God designed us to crave His STORY. We want to know how we got here and where we are going. He revealed it all to us in His sacred WORD, which inspires, teaches, and leads us along the way. Not only can we hear the STORY, we are characters in it! When we tell the story and live the story, we feel the JOY.
• Courage –  The Savior we worship is the LORD of Hosts. He is the mighty warrior who conquered the dragon. He is the faithful God who keeps His promises and is therefore the source of all courage. Truth and courage are the two pillars that hold us up as persons. When we pass on this courage and encourage others to fight the good fight of faith, He fills us with JOY.

Our heavenly Father has so many more gifts He loves to share and exchange with us, through Jesus Christ.  Let Christmas be a time we reflect on the gifts and remember to ask for them. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.