The Joy and Grief of Christmas

In this time of year we often highlight the joy of Christmas and this is a noble thing.  However, it is important for us to remember the grief that was a part of Christmas as well.  The Bible is filled with a mixture of joy and grief.  All those who walk the path of faith will find it a mixture of joy and grief.  In the midst of this we need to understand, not so much why we have particular grief in our life, but rather, that God too has grieved.  God has also felt the pain of love and been spurned and rejected.  God himself asks us to join him in this mixture of joy and grief and yet promises to bring all grief to an end.

Have you ever asked the question, "Why?"  "Why did this thing happen to me?"  Now turn that question around and put it in God's mind.  I doubt God would consider this question the same way we would, but no doubt he asks the question, why do you reject me?  Why do you persist in embracing that which will kill you and rejecting that which will give you life?  Why do you embrace that which hates you and reject him who truly loves you?  Today we will look at some scriptures to explore this theme.

The Joy and Grief of Creation

In Genesis 1:31 it says, "then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."  What a statement.  When God was done creating he steps back and recognizes that what he has created is VERY good.  This is a powerful statement.  There is, as of yet, no evil running rampant throughout his creation and his relationship with Adam and Eve is a joyous one.  In Job 38:7 God describes a joyous scene as the angels rejoice when God lays the foundations of the earth.  So creation itself is seen in the Bible of a joyous event.  However in chapter 3 we find that evil enters the creation.  As best we know it begins in the ranks of the highest order of angels.  Lucifer, the light-bearer, is filled with pride and chooses a path other than that of the Lord.  He chooses his own way, selfishness.  He not only causes angels to "fall" into darkness with him, but we find him on the earth tempting God's pet project, man, to rebel.  Man embraces the choice to make his own way.  To find a way other than the one offered by God, to a destination different than the one offered by God.  It is after many generations that Genesis 6:5-6 describes the state of mankind.

"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  Now clearly, in light of Luke 14:28f, God had already recognized that if given a choice then man would choose another way.  Before he even laid the foundation of the earth God had already recognized that though he make the universe, very good, it would become not good and would need to be fixed.  Can I do this?  The creation itself is the answer.  God would not have created if He could not overcome the evil that would arise.  Now here is my main point.  God was sorry and grieved in his heart at what the earth and the universe had become.  It hurt and was painful to him.  God is not unfeeling and dispassionate about the things that happen on this earth.  In fact, the argument to be understood is that the emotions we feel are but a shadow or analog of the emotions that God has.  The creation bears the signature marks of the creator.  It cannot be anything in its initial creation but a reflection of himself.  But sin mars that reflection and shatters the mirror.  So that the current reflection brings pain to the heart of God.  In fact the pain is not a mental anguish.  It is at the very core of his being, in his heart.  Now let's move to Christmas.

The Joy and Grief of Christmas

We see this same progression in the life of Mary.  She is a young girl who is visited by an angel one day.  The angels tells her that she is going to be the mother of the messiah and that the baby she would have would be supernaturally conceived in her by the Holy Spirit.  Now imagine the joy of being chosen by the God of the universe to be entrusted with the most precious hope of the world, the messiah or savior.  Man has forever looked for that perfect leader who would rise up and lead us out of the pain and suffering of this world.  The "messiah" was this promised leader.  What a privilege, what amazing joy must have filled her heart.  Not just for personal reasons, but also because she was to live to see the messiah, to see the one who for millennia had been promised.   However, all this joy is counterbalanced by the grief of what all this meant for Mary.  God's plan of a miraculous birth brought the grief to Mary of being thought a liar, a loose woman, an unfaithful fiancee, and her son an outcast.  This social rejection of Mary, her child, and Joseph--once he married her he would be seen as practically confessing the child was his-- was a grief that God knew would be experienced by them.

The family goes on to have great joyful experiences, such as shepherds coming and telling the message and story of the angels.  The wise men who came later and worshipped the child and gave very valuable gifts.  Some speculate that these gifts most likely gave them the financial ability to flee to Egypt and live there for a while.  This great joy is counterbalanced by the grief of Herod's rage.  He tries to kill the child and they flee to Egypt to escape.  However, many little children are killed and now Joseph and Mary live in a foreign land as outcasts.

We see this pattern in Jesus' adult life.  He is quickly embraced by the people and followed by multitudes.  Yet, this is counterbalanced by his rejection by the leaders and eventual crucifixion.  In fact we need to understand that Jesus himself is the visible expression of the grief of God.  So the Christmas story is just as much a story of grief as it is a story of joy.  Let's look at our current situation.

The Joy and Grief of Today

The Bible tells us that as it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the son of man.  That means that we will see the world increasingly become a place of wickedness.  It will become more and more dangerous for the righteous.  It may seem strange to us that God has allowed this grief to continue so long and to grow so great.  However, the Bible is clear that though his heart is hurt, he also wants to give more people a chance to repent.  In Romans 8:18-23 the apostle Paul deals with this issue.

^"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; ²¹ because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

God is even more aware of the sufferings in this world than we are.  He is suffering along with us.  But he has promised to bring an end to it and to bring us to an incomparable glory, a glory that is greater than the suffering.  He promises a day when the "sons of God" will be revealed to all the world.  All the groans of ourself and others, even the world itself, only give voice to the groans of the heart of God.

So let me challenge all of us today.  We tend to run from grief.  We need to recognize that grief can bring us closer to God if we will allow it to teach us about the heart of God.  When you allow the Spirit of the LORD to teach you what the heart of God really is, you will be strengthened to weather the storm with your faith in Jesus not only intact, but growing stronger everyday.  Lastly may we recognize that the coming joys of the 2nd Coming, the Resurrection, and the Restoration of all things, are only made sweeter by the griefs of today.

In your grief run to him who is well acquainted with grief, the lowly Jesus whose heart you can trust.