Perhaps you’re thinking, I’ve got nothing to celebrate. I’ve got nothing in my life that brings me joy.

I think you need to ask yourself why? Why is that?

Perhaps it’s because you fail to see that even right now, even in this moment, even in the pain and circumstances of your life. You don’t see that Jesus was born for you today, yes even today, even in these tough and terrible moments, Jesus was born for you. Because as it says, he was born for all the people.

Or maybe it’s because you’ve never really allowed Jesus to be your savior. Yeah, you are a nice person. You do nice things for people, so why do you need a savior? But deep down, I think you know the ways you fall short, the stubbornness of your sin and failings, but pride and striving, the pursuit of perfection and people pleasing keep you from admitting it.

Or maybe instead the problem is that you’ve done that one thing, you know you are a sinner, and you believe that one thing will bury you if you bring it into the light. You don’t believe that Jesus actually wants to save you from that.

Or maybe you don’t want to submit to Jesus as your king. Yeah, you’re here, you’re at church, you want Jesus to be a part of your life in some ways…but you don’t really want him to be your king. Forcing you to do things you don’t like, forbidding you from doing the things you do like. And so now, you are just holding him at an arm’s length.

Here’s the deal. You can keep going in life like that. You can keep going in life like that until you die…

But you will never experience the kind of life changing joy the shepherds are experiencing in this text. It’s never going to happen and believe me I tried. I tried to live that life and it was exhausting…

So, you have a decision to make today. Yes, even today more than 2,000 years after this baby that was born for you, you have a decision. Is Jesus just going to be your friend and teacher. Or are you going to choose that today is that day you make him your savior and your king?

And when you choose the latter. Much like Mary, you will have a manifest joy of rejoicing, that comes from the love and favor that is given to you by your Savior. That the God who sits on His throne in the heavens has shown concern for you. That even in the midst of your circumstances, you rejoice because even you have been noticed, your life, your trajectory has been changed, you’ve been given a purpose, a calling. And in response to that you can’t help but exude joy. You can’t help but testify to God’s care and love for you.

And when that happens I can promise you that’s when you will magnify the Lord from your soul and your spirit will rejoice for all to see!