Is God happy with you? Is He pleased with you? He gives you His Word and name. Do you study it? Learn it? Grow in it? Meditate upon His Word every day? Is it your joy and pleasure to study God's Word and grow in it? Or do you forget it. Ignore it. Don't know what's in it. Do you think God is pleased with you? The Lord gives you a neighbor. People around you. Husband. Wife. Kids. Parents. Family. Friends. People you work with. How do you treat them? Do you love the ones who love you back and do you harbor anger and a grudge against those who don't treat you right? Do you go out of your way to help others who need something or do you try to avoid doing something for others? And if you are helpful, do you help all the people or just the ones you get along with? Do you think God is pleased with you for that? If we stand in the light of God's Law to love Him and to love others, we realize pretty quickly that the Lord doesn't have any reason to be delighted in us.
When Jesus is born the angel host appears to the shepherds and sings, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men!” Peace and goodwill. What are those? What do they mean? If we consider “peace” and “goodwill” as just ideas then we will be stuck forever in the various personal meanings they have for people. “Peace” and “goodwill” will mean pretty much whatever people want them to mean. But if we understand that by “peace” and “goodwill” the angels mean Jesus, then we see what true peace and goodwill are all about. We ran through the Law. We see that we don't keep it. That makes us enemies of God. At war with Him. God says we are supposed to live one way and we want to live our way. And who do you think will win that battle? You or God? But when Jesus comes to be our peace, that means peace as in “no more enemies. No more fighting.” How is Jesus that kind of peace? Because He is born to die. Born to go to the cross. Born to pay the price of our sins. Born to suffer and die in our place. Born to take on the wrath of God Himself and absorb it for us. Deflect it from us. Rescue us from it. On Calvary, the One who was born in Bethlehem becomes our peace by dying for our sins. Now, you have peace with God. Whatever you have done against Him has been wiped out. Cancelled. Forgiven. No more warring with God. No more fighting. No more God being your enemy. Now, peace which means Christ for whose sake your sins have been forgiven.
Peace on earth and goodwill toward men. What is goodwill? It's God's favor. It's God being “well pleased” with you instead of condemning you. God being happy with you instead of angry. But again, how does that happen? How does that take place? The baby. The Son of God. Jesus. When the angels announce “Goodwill to men” they don't mean a happy feeling between people. They mean the Son of God for whose sake the Lord is now pleased with you. According to the Law, God is not happy. But according to Jesus, He is. According to Holy Baptism which sprinkles you with Jesus' blood by water and the Word, He's tinkled pink to rejoice that you too are His holy and precious child. According to Holy Absolution He says He is pleased with you because you have no sins to your account any more. According to His Holy Gospel He is pleased with you because His Son has taken your place and given His righteousness to you. According to Holy Communion He is pleased with you because He is pleased with Jesus His Son and Holy Communion puts that Son in you by Body and Blood. Is God pleased with you? Is there goodwill toward you? All of the gifts of Jesus—His Word and Sacraments—say yes He is. The Word and means of grace which give you Jesus are the ways He gives You His goodwill and the ways by which you know you have it.
Do you ever wonder if God's got it in for you? If you're in trouble? That happens. Sometimes life piles up around us and we can't help but think, “God's out to get me!” The shepherds thought that when an angel appeared. They were sore afraid. They feared a great fear. Or, to put it another way, freaked out and terrified! Until the angel preached to them. Until the learned a Savior had been born. Then what? They couldn't but run to Bethlehem and see their Savior. They couldn't keep their mouths shut about what they had seen and heard. Suddenly God's Word which delivered their Savior was the only thing they could talk about! When you hear Christ's Word preached, you have the answer to your question, “Does God have it in for me?” The answer is, “No way!” He's sent you a Savior. His own Son born in the flesh for you. Christmas means you never have to wonder if God hates you or loves you. Because His Son is born in the flesh and He is your peace and your goodwill from God.
Is God happy with you? The birth of our Lord Jesus means we don't answer that question according to the commandments any more. It means we answer it according to Who this Baby is that is born. The Son of God. His name, Jesus, “The Lord Saves.” Peace. Goodwill. That's what He is and does and gives. Is God happy with you? He can't be any happier with you than He is in Jesus His own beloved Son. That's through the cross and death and into eternal life glory happy with you. In Jesus. Who is peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Peace and goodwill toward you. Merry Christmas in the name of Jesus! Amen.
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