Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive its King;
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room
And heav'n and nature sing.

How many Christmas seasons have you sung this hymn with gusto, rejoicing at the good news that Christ the Savior is born? As you sang the hymn, did you sing it with the concept of Jesus being your Savior? Indeed, He is that. But perhaps you should again this season sing it from a slightly different perspective. Jesus is the Savior of the world! This Christmas carol is a hymn with a global perspective. The joy of salvation by grace through faith is intended for all the inhabitants of this planet we now call home.

There are those who would wish to change the Christmas carol to go something like this:

Joy to my town, the Lord is come!
Let my corner of the world receive its King;
Let ev'ry one from my culture prepare Him room
And the good and upright people sing.

Then would Christmas and the message of Christ be applicable only to some of the population of the globe, but not all of it. Then would Christ have come only for those who were able to make a good impression on the world by their outwardly good deeds. Or the changed version could mean that certain people were affected by Christmas and its message, but not all.

This was never God's plan, however. "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1). "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14). Our God loves the world. Christ is a world Savior. The angel was sent to announce, "I give you good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people; unto you this day in the city of David a Savior has been born" (Luke 2:10-11).

The message of Christmas is that all provincialism and partiality are to be put aside and Christ Jesus is to be recognized as the "atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2).

Isaiah in prophecy indicated that the world was included when he said:

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation (Isaiah 25:7-9).

Yes, be glad and rejoice in the salvation that Jesus Christ has won for all the people on this globe. Faith in Jesus' salvation enables us to be certain that we are truly among those for whom Christ lived in perfection and for whom Christ died so that eternity and the joy of the Christ Child might be ours. Salvation has come to this globe, to this continent, to this nation, and to this very state and county-so that I may be His.

Martin Luther described this response of knowing that Jesus was the Savior of all the world and made mention of how it affected our attitude toward others:

When a Christian begins to know Christ as His Lord and Savior. then his heart is permeated with God, so that he is driven to help others receive the same, because there is no greater joy for him than this treasure that he now knows Jesus.

So he heads out in every direction, teaches and urges all others, boasts about the Gospel, and witnesses of it to everyone, pleads and sighs that they might receive such grace.

He contests for and strives with all his might, as one who lives for one purpose, that is, that he might spread more widely among people God's honor and praise (Korinth 1980, 367, translation by Ottomar E. Bickel).

May your joy this Christmas be to bestow the gift of joy on others so that "every heart prepare Him room."

Wayne Halvorson is pastor of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Albert Lea, Minnesota and is the Field Secretary of the ELS Board for Foreign Missions.