Spreading the Joy

Merry Christmas all! I trust you’ll forgive this short, but sweet blog on this Christmas day (in Japan).

When the shepherds heard the news that a Savior was born, they immediately raced down to Bethlehem to find him. And when they found Him, they rejoiced greatly.

It says that after they returned, they were glorifying and praising God. To be honest, I think that was an understatement for the joy they felt.

But it was a joy that they could not hold to themselves, for it says in verse 17, that they spread the news to anyone that would listen.

It says that the people were amazed at what the shepherds told them. What it doesn’t say is how they responded after that.

Did they truly believe the shepherds and go see the child themselves? Somehow, I get the impression that they didn’t. Some may have, but if they did, it’s recorded nowhere in scripture.

But to the shepherds, it didn’t matter whether or not the people believed them. They were so filled with joy that they HAD to tell others about it or they’d burst.

How about you? Are you so filled with the joy of the Lord that you’ll just burst if you don’t tell them?

We can’t control how people will respond to the good news about Jesus. What’s more, that’s not our responsibility.

But if we truly love Jesus, if we are truly filled with his joy, we should be telling people about him so that they can know that same joy in their lives too.

How much joy are you spreading?