Joy and Pain

JOY AND PAIN Nº 177 weekly devotions to refresh your soul by Dr. Dan Bolin - December 21, 2021

Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life. - Corrie Ten Boom

John 3:16 captures the essence of Christmas – and so much more. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Parents know the joy and pain of sending their children off to the first day of school, the first week of summer camp, or their first year of college. Joy and sorrow intermingle as their children face new opportunities and potential perils. I cannot help but think that God the Father felt similar emotions as his Son stepped from eternity into time and became the God-Man. The Father’s exhilaration, joy, and love were tempered by the reality that in a mere 33 years, a merciless execution awaited His Son. The joy of Christmas can never be separated from the agony of Good Friday or the victory of Easter. Christ’s entry into the world is cause for celebration; the angels cheered! But Christmas should also prompt us to reflect on God the Father’s love. This Christmas take time to reflect on both the joy and pain of the simple message, “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.”

Dan Bolin President Refueling in Flight Ministries, Inc