I love how much joy is expressed throughout the Christmas season…be it through special times, reuniting with family and friends, practicing fun traditions and making new ones, or the giving and receiving of gifts to one another, this time of year truly brings out the best in us.
Yet despite all the joy of the holidays, I think it can be so easy to emphasize or even idolize this time because deep down inside, we know that after a few short weeks, the joy in this season will come to an end. Eventually, the trees and lights come down, we’ll return to the usual school and work routines and, with it, the tough realities and hardships we encounter in this broken world.
But despite the inevitable gloom and distress in our world, we can have true joy knowing that the party doesn’t have to come to an end, for soon we will be in a place where there is no more pain, no more division, no more brokenness, or defeat. A place where we’ll worship and shout with praises to our Heavenly Father who rescued us from the deep darkness of this world.
So as we cherish the special nature of this Christmas season, I pray that we don’t lose sight of the eternal joy-filled season awaiting us in Heaven, where the celebration is never out of season and where there will be no end to rejoicing in the goodness of our Savior!