How Can I Sing Joy to the World?
The Christmas season often brings out myriad emotions, including joy, peace, love, excitement, and warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia. But the season can also be very difficult for those who have lost a loved one and are facing a Christmas season without that person, for those who have experienced life changing events (health issues, divorce, job loss, etc.). One thing that can make the Christmas season especially difficult is when someone has sinned against you in an especially painful way. That deep hurt and joy and laughter all around seem incongruous. How can you sing "Joy to the World" while feeling hurt and angry inside? We know that others will sin against us, but it seems unfair that things like that should happen during Christmas season. The very time of year might make it harder to deal with. So how do we forgive those who have sinned against us and hurt us deeply? Jesus addresses that very question in a parable He told, which is recorded in