W E LONG FOR GOOD NEWS. The headlines and scandal and upheaval and unrest and general anxiety these days come in your face by TV and Facebook and email and newspaper and radio. We long for a timely and important word. And when we hear the good news we rejoice and share it with others. Good news.

■ Your adoption has gone through.
■ You receive a good grade on the project you struggled to complete.
■ The doctor says your test results look good.
■ You are offered that dream job.
■ A long-lost friend just contacted you.

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CELEBRATE, REJOICE. Throw a party. Good news has come.

Proverbs says that good news gives health to the bones. We want good news. We need good news. Our hearts, our lives, our friends need good news. Good news that gives health to the weary and tired. Good news that breathes life into life-less bones. Good news that brings joy to all people.

The Bible is filled with that good news.

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GOOD NEWS IS at the heart of who God is. Good news: here is your God! Good news: your God reigns. Good news: God is coming to us. Good news to all people: a child is born. Good News: His very name, Emmanuel, means God is with us. Good News: His very name, Jesus, means he will save us from our sins. Good news for Every. Single. Person. On. Earth.

The story of the good news of Jesus Christ continues… to this day… and among me and among you!

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CELEBRATE, REJOICE. Throw a party. Sing praises. Blow trumpets. Wave banners. Clap your hands. Ah yes, that’s the way it should be. Unfortunately, sometimes we concentrate so much on the gifts that we want to give and receive from each other; we miss the special gifts of Christmas for us.

Pause . . . . Pause in the frantic and joyful preparations of the season and be reminded that God is still with you. God still works through you. God continues the story of the good news among and in and with you…and will keep at it well after this season concludes and the tree is stored away.

■ Good News. God is not done. We are not yet what we have been called to be.
■ Good News. God’s mercy and courage and blessing extends farther and deeper than we can imagine.
■ Good News. This is all just the beginning!

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CELEBRATE, REJOICE. Throw a party.

Mark’s gospel [that means good news] starts with these words: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God!”

On one level, that sentence tell us that this is the start of his story. But on another level, there is a more personal impact — this is “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God!” in your life, in my life, as well.

These words are meant to speak to us at a personal level. This is good news for you!

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ARE YOU FAMILIAR with the game show “The Price Is Right”? Contestants are selected from the audience with the words “Come on down!” The audience erupts into cheering and excitement — it is good news to be picked. Family members jump up to cheer, the rest of the audience claps, the host smiles. The person selected looks shocked, amazed, astounded, elated, asking is it really me?

For us as Christians it should be no different. This is the image we need to have in our heads and hearts when we consider the excitement of the good news of Jesus Christ.

■ “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Sue/Zadie!”
■ “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Johnny/Gene!”
■ “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Haley/Ella!”
■ “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Bob/Don!”

And as we hear those words, this calling, we all cheer, we all encourage, we all share that excitement.

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THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRISTMAS is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel message is about the greatest gift of all time — God gave us Jesus, his Son, who brings great joy to everyone who receives him. Good News: This is life-changing stuff. With the excitement of hearing the good news and our name being called there is a new beginning.

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TOMMY ROSENSTIEL learned he had cancer.

Up to that point his life couldn’t have been much better. He was in his 16th year of practicing medicine in Tuscaloosa. He was married and had two children. Then, one day, Tommy noticed a swollen spot in his neck. He immediately consulted his brother, an ENT specialist who ordered a CT scan. Sure enough, their greatest fear — stage-4 cancer of the nose and throat.

Tommy’s treatment was “really brutal.” He got down to 110 pounds and was so weak he couldn’t get up by himself. But good news. He survived. He’s been given “a redo, a life mulligan,” he says. He can no longer practice medicine because his hands no longer have enough sensation.
Tommy describes himself as “obnoxiously happy” these days. “I told myself if I could survive the disease and the treatment, I’d be most obnoxiously happy.” www.al.com/…/alabama-physician-gets-a-second-chance-at-life…

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I WOULD LIKE TO CAPTURE that sense of excitement and call every day. To get up every morning, each day a new beginning. Each day as if Jesus is saying to me “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ the Son of God, for Keith Cardwell!” And then spend the day living with eyes wide open to the conversion God is working in my life. Eyes wide open to God working change in the world around me. Awaiting God’s promise to make all things new.

To spend the day, each day, “obnoxiously happy” that God has come to us in Jesus Christ. The purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the gift given to us and then to share this gift with others.

Good news for me. Good news for you. This is good news of great joy for all people. Go and tell the Good News.

Thanks be to God.

— Keith Cardwell