Humility
"Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe… lying in a manger." Luke 2:10-12
Man's conscience and the Ten Commandments show man his sin and he is thus afraid to face God. But the angel's announcement ended with this: "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy." The Gospel of Jesus Christ is above all intended to create the greatest possible joy in the human heart. Sin had separated God and man, but God bridged that separation by becoming a man Himself. When God beholds a sinner and His wrath begins to burn, God will remember that God the Son, as a man, bore the sinner's doom.
God had come to earth before, but not as a man and not as a Savior. The Lord and two angels went to Sodom to witness human sin and to punish it by burning up Sodom and Gomorrah. This coming of God brings horror to the world. But, as we see in Luke 2, when God was born as a human being, He came not in vengeance, but in mercy. He might have come with thunderbolts in His hands, but instead, He brings gifts of forgiveness.
The Savior from sin that the angel announces "is Christ the Lord." The word "Lord" here is equivalent to "God" (1:9). Our Savior is God Himself. Rejoice in this! For suppose an angel had been sent to be our savior. An angel would not have been able to bear the sin of the whole human race. But God's one life is worth infinitely more than all the lives of all His creatures.
To this day, knowing that Christ the Lord alone makes us righteous and at peace with God our Maker is the only hope for men, and should give us great joy!
Holy Ghost, lead me always to find fullness of joy in Jesus alone: trusting in Him, humbly repenting of my sins, and serving Him. Amen.