Sad and happy are often looked upon as antonyms, or opposites. A person is either happy or sad, but not both at the same time. Yet some occasions can have the effect of both sadness and joy. Recently we discussed “Sad Verses” in the Bible. Lessons of value can be learned from such words. However, the truth is that all of us can gain much from both sad and happy circumstances.
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
It is a wonderful thought that man and his abode are not merely the result of an accident in space. God’s creation is one of the blessings man enjoys, and it is a source of comfort to know that we are not “alone” in this world. Man has, for centuries, asked “Who am I?…Why am I here?…What is my purpose in life?” Happily, the fact that God created us and the universe tells us that we have status in God’s sight and we have a purpose to fulfill. Genesis 1:1 helps us understand why God sent His son as our Saviour, and we are thankful and challenged.
2 Samuel 12:23 “But now he is dead…Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
David’s sin has caught up with him, and the result is his newborn son’s death. He is very sad, and this context reveals that sadness, but joy dims some of the sadness, for he knows that “I can go to him.” In the depth of his sorrow, David knew that death is not an absolute, not a permanent state, that there is an identity, a life after death. When we lose a loved one as David did, we can rejoice because God has given us the “hope of eternal life,” Titus 1:2, 3:7.
Those who are “purified” by the blood of Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 1:22, can, like David and that precious child, be reunited with those loved ones whose faithfulness has made “eternal life” possible for us
Psalms 8:3-4 “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?”
The joy that rests within this passage is that the God Who created us cares for us, is “mindful” of us. We are not merely flesh and blood; we have a spirit that one day can live with God. Not only is He “mindful” of us, but He loves us, as seen in John 3:16 and 1 John 4:8. As powerful as He is, He knows us and He cares for us. He is not our adversary – but our greatest friend. We know this because He willingly gave His “only begotten Son” as a sacrifice, as the “propitiation” for our sin, making eternal life a sublime possibility for every person, 1 John 2:2.
Luke 2:10-11 “..I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
When the angel of the Lord pronounced these joyous words, the world could know that man’s most vicious problem – sin – could now be forgiven and forgotten. The book of Philippians reminds us of the magnitude of Jesus’ task on earth:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” Philippians 2:5ff.
His sacrifice was not a minor one, but His place in heaven held no control over him. This reinforces our understanding of this happy passage, and the wonderful love of Jesus for us.
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
One of the most precious truths of scripture is that which informs us that we can play a part in our own salvation and even in that of others. Harmonizing with that truth is the fact that, while we play a part, we cannot and do not do it all by our own works.
If it depended solely upon our own works to have the hope of eternal life we would be in an impossible state. Romans 3:23 tells us that all “have sinned” and “fall short” of what God wants of us. We could never be “good enough” to earn or merit that heavenly home. Though it was Christ on that cross, we can have a part in our salvation as well as others. But we need God’s grace, for even the best of our deeds could never be enough to put God in our debt. God’s grace is the source of man’s forgiveness, and our part in this story of redemption is to “obey Him,” Hebrews 5:8-9.
Luke 2:34-35 “Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
You might say this passage is a mixture of joy and pain. Certainly, the message brought great pain to Mary, but oh, the JOY it ultimately brought to mankind through the coming of her son, Jesus, to the world to offer the gift of salvation to all of us. Pain? Yes, but what joy came with it!
