by Elder Johnny Kim
Like any other guy, I like a good war movie, but I particularly appreciate those war movies that are based on actual events. “We Were Soldiers” is one such movie and one of my favorite scenes is at the end when Mel Gibson’s character comes back home after fighting in Vietnam and is reunited with his wife. In one of the final scenes, she waits at home and her doorbell rings, gripping her with fear as she expects to receive news that her husband has been killed in action. However, when she opens the door, she sees her husband standing there having returned safely from the war. In that moment, her feelings of fear and the expectation of receiving tragic news instantly turn to joy.
The display of extreme emotions, from complete fear to ecstatic joy, is something we can also find in the Bible. In the account of the birth of Jesus in Luke 2:8, we read about an angel of the Lord appearing to the shepherds tending to their flock. Upon seeing the angel, the shepherds were “filled with great fear” and rightly so, for past visits from such angels and heavenly beings sometimes resulted in death and destruction. The shepherds, perhaps fearing the same for their own lives, were deathly afraid, but then the angel spoke to reveal his true intentions. He delivers the good news of the birth of the One who had come to save them. The angel’s news wasn’t about death and destruction, but rather about life and salvation. In that moment, their fear turns to joy and they excitedly hurry to travel to witness their newly born Savior.
What a roller coaster of emotions it must have been for the shepherds! I can only imagine that the swing of extreme emotions then made the eventual good news that much sweeter. The expectation that something bad was going to happen had to have then made receiving the good news in the end that much more appreciated, meaningful, and precious!
For Christians today who understand the truth of the Gospel, we should recognize that we ourselves were in a similar situation. Because of our sin and rebellion against God, we fully deserved to receive the worst news of all, that we would be damned to hell and separated from God forever and that that would be it. And yet, for those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, the news of Christ being born into this world means that we can have salvation and eternal life instead. It’s a complete reversal of what we should have deserved and because of that, the news of Christ’s birth should be that much more sweeter to those who hear it and understand it.
Should we find it difficult to be joyful during the Christmas season, a time when we celebrate Christ coming into this world to save us, we need to remind ourselves that this good news is hardly the type of news we deserved at all. As we look forward to cultivating a true joy in our lives this season for the world around us to see, let us consider just how precious the good news of Christ’s birth ought to be in light of the news we truly deserved and should have expected.