A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
“Joy to the world!” we sing so gladly on Christmas Day, “the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!”
But there are 123 million refugees in the world to whom that song is a mockery. Joy? Peace? Driven out of their homes under guns? Far from home, huddled under a tarp, the temperature dropping? Their children begging for food? Driven from their homes by persecution, war, conflict, and famine? They can’t go home. If they could, they would find nothing left of the home to shelter them. How can they sing “Joy to the world”?
Many people in the United States would feel the same conflict. Perhaps they are unexpectedly in the hospital with a grave diagnosis. Too many families who hardly get enough food certainly have no money left over for Christmas gifts for the children. Other homes have been disrupted this year by anger and betrayal, or saddened by a wayward child, or enduring unexpected financial loss. The “American dream” to many is a disenchanted lie.
So what ought you and I, so blessed by God in so many ways, do this Christmas to share the glorious Christmas truth?—the truth that God loves this broken, wicked world passionately, wholly, so unselfishly that He gave His most precious possession, His only Son, to bring us to Heaven?
First, perhaps, we need to settle in our own minds the absolute truth of the Gospel. This year was, for many, an exceedingly difficult year. Does that mean God hasn’t kept His promises? No. Jesus knew we would feel this way when trouble came, so here’s what He told us the night before He died:
I [Jesus] have told you all this
so that trusting Me, you will be unshakable
and assured, deeply at peace.
In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties.
But take heart!
I have conquered the world. John 16:31 The Message
Yes, the Christmas message is true: Jesus was born an innocent baby, to grow up in this evil world, and then to die in our place on the cross, to bring us to Heaven. And that’s the only message that could bring joy to our friends and relatives this Christmas. Why not make that message your special gift this year?
But those 123 million homeless refugees still lie heavily on our hearts. How can we share the joy of Christmas with them? I suggest that a number of trust-worthy Bible mission boards have missionaries on the ground in those refugee camps, distributing blankets, food, clothing, and the Gospel of joy. Since I have so many children and grandchildren and great-grands and their spouses, (a marvelous answer to prayer), it’s difficult to find a really meaningful gift for each child that I can afford. So, with their permission, the money I would have spent on gifts to the children, we send to the missionaries serving refugees all over the world.
When someone takes Jesus as their Savior, they may not experience unalloyed joy right now—“in this world we continue to experience difficulties.” But someday, thank God, because of Christmas, we will sing together around God’s throne, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 NKJV