Our Greatest Joy!
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid,
for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy
which will be to all people. For there is born to
you this day in the city of David a Savior, who
is Christ the Lord.”
Luke 2: 10-11
The Greek word
for evangelize means
“to announce glad tidings”—good news
which results in “great joy.” Too often we
think of evangelism as
the recitation of
facts about Jesus death and resurrection,
and belief in Him. And those are important.
But framing it as an announcement of
something great, Good News, can make
all the difference to those who hear it.
When the angel announced to the shepherds that
Jesus was born, he literally said, “I evangelize you”
“I bring you good tidings.” And the glad tidings were
that in Bethlehem a Savior was born “who is Christ
the Lord.”
The angel didn’t
connect “great joy” with the
activities around Jesus’ birth. The “great joy”
was tied directly to the birth of Jesus
Himself.
May your joy this year be
tied to Jesus the Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
"Whatever is your greatest joy
and treasure, that is your
heaven and your god."