Christmas – Joy for the Suffering

The joy of Christmas is not a giddy joy but a profound joy.
Christmas bells, time with family, trees, sledding are good and fun, but Christmas joy is much much more. 
Christmas is a profound joy that God loves us in this way, that he gave us his Son, to die for our sins.
Christmas is a profound joy that in the midst of this broken world, God is determined at an infinite cost to himself to restore goodness.
Christmas  is a profound joy that God is here today. God with us – Emmanuel. 
Christmas  is a profound joy based in sure hope that one day there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more death., but for today,
Christmas teaches us that God is the one who weeps with us as he walks us through our pains.
 
This Christmas be mindful of the suffering and give profound joy, profound hope. Here is a good article to consider as you minister to those who lost a loved one. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-grieving-people-wish-you-knew-at-christmas