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The birth of Jesus Christ brought great joy. Even before he was born, when his mother, Mary, met with her cousin Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb “leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44). When a mighty host of angels appeared to lowly shepherds, the angel of the Lord announced the birth of Jesus by saying, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (2:10). 

Why is Jesus’s birth an occasion of such joy? Surely there are many reasons. But the gospel of John emphasizes one: Jesus came to offer himself to sinners so that they might be born again. John highlights this in his introduction, when he writes, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13, italics mine). 

This new birth is nothing less than a radical transformation, in which God the Holy Spirit takes a spiritually dead and corrupt heart, brings it to life, and ultimately glorifies it in heaven. What an occasion for joy! Not only did the Son of God assume a human nature and human flesh, but he offered himself to sinners—such as you and me. And this offer transforms our lives. What greater cause for joy is there for sinners this Christmas?

—Jonathan Master, author, You Must Be Born Again

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’Tis the season to be jolly—right? Just because we sing it and say it doesn’t necessarily make it true. The joy of Christmas—something that comes so naturally when we are children—can feel increasingly unattainable as we grow older. As we face more hardships and go through darker trials, our joy can grow dull. What can we do to reclaim the joy of this season? I want to suggest to you that the greatest joy in Jesus—any time of the year, but especially at Christmas—is found in the church and the covenant community. Here are three reasons why.

1. The church provides no shortage of reasons for rejoicing, because every church member’s joy is shared with the whole body. “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15). If you are in short supply of joy this Christmas, join the church and find your joy in hers.

2. The church reorients us to what gives us true satisfaction and happiness in life. It is not the materialistic and consumeristic promise of “more” but the gospel promise of Christ. The church, as she abides in the Vine, finds life, joy, pleasures evermore in Jesus and nowhere else.

3. The joy of the season makes no sense apart from the church. Jesus came to earth for his church, and he is coming back to be wed to her permanently. The advent season, therefore, is a time for God’s people to long for and joyfully anticipate together that time when their bridegroom will bring them home to himself.  

—Jonathan Landry Cruse, author, Church Membership

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What are you grieving this Christmas? What makes you anxious as you approach the year’s end? Christmas may be a time of joy, but the gaps in our joy become all the clearer for that. In your discomfort and pain, where do you look for solace? 

During a dark period of political oppression, Simeon awaited the consolation of Israel, the Messiah whom God had promised he would someday see. Anna had lost her husband far too early; in the temple, she drew daily comfort from the presence of God and his people. They waited and worshiped, day after day after day. Maybe you’re there too—grieving, waiting.

The wait ends well. One day, their comfort came.

Charles Wesley describes Jesus as the “joy of heav’n to earth come down.” He was heaven’s own, heaven’s heart, yet he set aside the comforts of heaven to make his joy ours. Simeon welcomed this joy into his arms. Anna spoke of him, comforting God’s people in Jerusalem. Their lives had found their center.

If, like Simeon, you have taken hold of Jesus, embracing him as your joy, you can be assured that Jesus is holding on to you. The Heidelberg Catechism says that your only comfort is that you belong, body and soul, to him. No earthly love, possession, accomplishment, or experience can bring such lasting consolation.

As you wait and worship, celebrate and grieve this Christmas, be comforted. The Joy of Heaven came to earth to seek you out. He will not let you go.

—Amanda Martin, editor, My Only Comfort

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“God wants you to be happy!”

I sometimes wonder if those of us in the Reformed world view such statements with mild suspicion. He desires us to be holy, sure. He wants us to walk in the truth, of course. But happy? At best, it’s a low-priority side benefit.

Yet the angels announced the coming of Christ as “good news of great joy that will be for all people” (Luke 2:10); the shepherds set off for Bethlehem in pursuit of a child who would bring true and lasting happiness. Likewise, the magi “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” when they saw the star that would lead them to Christ (Matt. 2:10). Both groups approached Christ with a sense of delighted expectation.

And it’s with this same expectation of joy that we should approach worship with God’s people. “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11). In the advent season, we look forward to Christ’s second coming—the day when he will receive us into glory and the uninterrupted pleasures of his presence. For now we taste them, albeit weakly, as we come to him in worship.  

If the advent season looks forward, Christmas itself reminds us that Christ has already come to save, and so our future is secure. When we hear of all he’s done as his Word is preached, when we sing his praises together, when we come in his name to our heavenly Father, we begin to drink even now from the river of his delights (Ps. 36:8).

—Jonty Rhodes, author, Reformed Worship

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Christmas can be a difficult time of year for married couples. You face financial pressures, packed calendars, divergent expectations—not to mention time with your in-laws. Amid the chaos, you may feel like you have no time to nurture your relationship with your spouse.

But I want to cast the Christmas season in a different light. You can draw close to your spouse this Christmas instead of drifting apart.

My favorite retelling of the Christmas story is found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (2:6-7)

Paul reminds us that the incarnation isn’t just a story; the love Christ displayed by becoming man casts a vision for the entire Christian life—including marriage.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. . . . Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 2:3, 5)

In the Christmas story, the very heart of God is revealed. We see his great love for us—a love that led him first to a manger and ultimately to the cross.

Your marriage is uniquely designed to reflect his love. Christmas isn’t a distraction from your marriage but a potent reminder of its purpose. As you consider your spouse this holiday season, may you do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count them more significant than yourself. May Christ’s incarnation be the reason for the season and the reason for the tone of your home.

—Scott Mehl, author, Redeeming Sex in Marriage