As we approach Christmas Day at warp speed. (That’s the speed of light for you non-Trekker fans.) Many people are obsessed with making sure they try to get everything just right. Many obsess with making sure they have bought just the right present for the right person and that the house looks like a picture out of a Norman Rockwell painting. When you walk into their house, the smell is better than the greatest scratch and sniff you have ever scratched and sniffed. Don’t act like you have never had your nose buried in a magazine so deep that we couldn’t see your face trying to get every last bit of fragrance to make your day just a little bit brighter.
Anyway, we come to Christmas Eve and as the family gathers, the house looks great, decorated with just the right mix of modern and all the different things the kids have made for us over the years. Those things that when you see them almost stop you in your tracks as the flood of memories hit you like a brick. The food smells amazing as if to prove that all those cooking shows you watched have certainly paid off and you even think to yourself “I may be ready to apply my skills to Chopped.” You look forward to everyone complimenting you on how amazing everything tastes and smells and looks. When people walk into the living room they can tell that this is no store-bought tree. The fresh pine smell fills the room and the decorations are all hung with precision and meaning.
Is all of this ok? Or are we supposed to be doing and thinking something else? Yes, this is all ok. But there is a qualifier to it all. That qualifier is this, does this bring you happiness or joy? There is a difference and in this application one is right and one is wrong.
Let me explain. As we look at this holiday season we can get caught by all the different elements it has to offer. The sights, the smells, the touch, the sounds, and of course the taste of everything that makes up Christmas for us. These things all can and do bring us happiness. But some people make the common mistake to think it brings them joy.
Joy, true joy can only come from one place and one person. That person is Jesus. In Luke 2:10 the working class of people, or Shepard’s were just hanging out doing their job when all of a sudden there was a bright light that just turned on in the middle of the night. This scared the stuffing out of them and then an angel says this. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” This was certainly good news for a bunch of people that didn’t usually have joy in their life. The joy he was talking about was the saving relationship we can have with Jesus. Jesus spent his whole life and short ministry telling people this good news, that God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. If you’re willing to give up your ways for his you will have the real joy to know for yourself. You can know that you will live forever with God in Heaven. That is real joy!!
So for the next week. Go for it!! Enjoy all the happiness that will come. Get to Christmas morning and be happy, make others happy with gifts and food. Be happy in the community you are a part of but just remember that in all of life there is only one way to have true joy throughout the whole year. Jesus!
Merry Christmas from the Sagmoe’s 
ETHOS 4 LIFE 
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