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PROGRAM D-7206
“Merry” is a word we hear a lot at this time of year. Not my name, Mary, but merry as in Merry Christmas. Have you noticed we don’t use that word much at other times of the year? It seems to be a word reserved for Christmas.
Well, it’s a traditional word, an old-fashioned word. It seems to go automatically with “Christmas.” What do we mean when we say “Merry Christmas”? Do we mean anything at all—or is it like “How are you today?”
Supposedly we’re saying, “I hope your Christmas is happy.” We like to think of Christmas as a merry time for everyone. But for many people, Christmas is not merry at all. In fact it can be one of the saddest, loneliest times of all the year.
For instance, if you have no family to be with at Christmas, you may not feel so merry. If you can’t make it to your family’s celebration, it may not be merry. If your family is separated by more than miles—by divorce or death—or if your celebration of Christmas is not loving and warm, your Christmas may not be so merry. If you have financial difficulties, Christmas may not seem merry this year.
So, at a time when everyone is proclaiming that this is a “merry” time of year—a time for all to be happy and jovial—you may be acutely and painfully reminded that your circumstances are not conducive for a Merry Christmas.
How can you be merry this Christmas, regardless of the circumstances? How can you have a merry Christmas in spite of your problems and trials, your hardships and tough times?
I want to talk about how to have a merry heart for a merry Christmas. And of course, it works for any other time of the year as well. We usually hear a message or a sermon at this time of year about keeping the Christmas spirit all year long. Well, wouldn’t it be something if Christians kept a merry heart all year long. A heart overflowing with thankfulness, joy, caring, compassion and love.
If you have a merry heart, you will have a merry Christmas. Circumstances won’t affect it; people can’t rob you of joy if your heart is merry. So, we are going to look at the secret to a merry heart—for Christmas or any time of the year.