Tell That Good News Y'all!

And do this, understanding the present time.  The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  - Romans 3:11-12

What do you do when you have some good news to tell? 

Do you stuff it way down into your gut and leave it there?  Do you resist the urge to tell people your good news no matter who they might be, nor how excited it might make them? 

If you are like me, the first thing you do when you have some good news---the kind of news that is firing you up inside and burning a hole through you to get out---is to find that person you know who will celebrate with you the hardest and you tell them. 

And not only do you tell them, you tell them dramatically... you draw the story out a bit, and create some suspense.  You punch the final revelation of your good news with an exclamation point, highlighted with some over-the-top gestures and maybe a bit of jumping up and down. 

That's what you would do.  All of that. 

The season of Advent is a season of expectation and anticipation of the coming of the Messiah, the celebration of the Good News that because of Jesus we have all the reasons to be filled with hope, joy, peace, and love. 

Listen, we owe it to the world around us not to keep this Good News bottled up inside of us.  We are meant to let it all out in a rush! 

Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. says it like this: 

The New Testament insists that we tell the good news.  We are from our roots a prophetic people.  we may not keep the bread of life in a cupboard.  Any song we have heard must be sung for others.  Any gift we have received must be re-given.  

So share the Good News today.  Tell someone that the world is meant for more and better because God is with us.  Tell them that all of the things that are wrong and messed up don't get to stay that way.  The bad guys don't get to win.  Darkness cannot overcome Light.

And do it with some gusto.  Jump up and down a bit if need be.  But let them know that God is for them and has gone to the greatest lengths possible to show it.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.