Today's Readings: Numbers 24:1–17; Psalm 25; 1 Corinthians 2:1–10
“Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.” This is the chorus of a hymn sung more often decades ago than today. Yet the good news of the birth of Jesus still rings a sense of joy!
Good news is a great thing! The weatherman predicting inches of snow on Christmas Eve, a doctor announcing to the father that both the baby and mom are doing fine, the minister pronouncing the couple husband and wife—good news is a great thing and needs to be shared.
There are many avenues bidding for our attention, claiming to bring good news to us. In Corinth, the apostle Paul saw a people being inundated with information garnering their attention. The popular voice was echoed by men considered wise in understanding ‘philosophy’ and ‘truth.’ It was in this environment that Paul preached Jesus as the Messiah.
We find Paul in his first letter to the church of Corinth, defending the message he proclaimed. “My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Cor. 2:4). And yet Acts 18 tells us many people came to know Jesus as Savior.
The same Spirit that lives in us as disciples of Jesus compels us to share the Good News of the cross and the salvation that awaits all who would put their faith in him. You may not be persuasive or articulate but the message, the Good News we have, is what can change hearts toward God. Earlier in his letter, Paul writes, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved” (1:18). Jesus is the most joyful news we could ever share!
