Joy to the World! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king.
Did you know that song is more than just a Christmas song? In fact, some would argue that it’s not really a Christmas song at all, looking to Christ’s first coming in the manger, but rather a coronation song looking to Christ’s second coming to the throne.
As we turn to Romans 8, my mind goes particularly the third verse of that song: No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.
You see, the world right now is under the curse of God brought on by Adam’s sin in Genesis 3. God told Adam, “…Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
And here in Romans 8 we learn that not only do we as human beings groan and long for the coming of Jesus Christ, which will bring the full redemption of our bodies and the complete eradication of sin, but so is creation itself. Creation eagerly awaits our full redemption at the second of Jesus Christ so that it too can be fully redeemed and set free from the bondage of its curse of corruption. It groans like a 9-month pregnant woman who longs for her baby to soon be born so that she might have some relief.
And relief is indeed coming when we see Jesus come again. Joy to the world! The Lord is come. And that relief will be felt as far as the curse is found. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Change begins in you!
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