What is next to love in the Christian’s character?

Few things match being among friends and telling old stories, just enjoying life. Deep laughter rolls from the depths of a person’s being. Oh yes, there is a canned kind of laughter, too. It’s hollow and forced. This kind of ‘laughter’ actually makes me sad. Then, there is mocking laughter, cynical and scornful. It makes me angry, for it is a joy purchased at the expense of another, cruel and exploitative.   

Real joy that rises up in us is a gift. There is healing power in genuine joy.

There was an evening among a group of friends that stands out in my memory. We started telling stories on ourselves, bloopers, dumb mistakes we had made, absurd situations in which we found ourselves. The laughter built until we were breathless. It was clean, wholesome, and we were renewed.  Though we were each carrying burdens of life that night, we went home refreshed in joy. Do you know how to laugh?  There are some of us who are so ‘deep,’ or who take ourselves so seriously, it’s nearly impossible to get a laugh, never mind one of those belly laughs that leave us breathless.

God says that next to love, JOY reveals the life of the Holy Spirit in us.  A “joyless Christian” is a contradiction. Does this mean we have to be merry folk, laughing through the day, practical jokers all?  Of course not. The Holy Spirit living in us will give us hope, strengthen faith, and fill us with His Presence however.  And the inevitable result is a person who has a joyful heart, in every circumstance. It’s not a quality worked up; it’s a gift that flows from the inside out!

We must choose joy. Suffering abounds on this broken globe. War and disease, death and disappointment are all around us. But, so is new life, victory over sin, healing provided by the Lord, and the beauty of His work.  So, where will you choose to live – in the sorrow or in the joy?  After preaching the convicting Word to the people of God, Nehemiah saw them broken-hearted over their sins. In a well-known passage, he told them that God was ready to renew the covenant with them and that they needed to celebrate His goodness.  “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV)

David sang about the doubts that were replaced with faith. The result?  "You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound." (Psalm 4:7, NIV)  When the crops were abundant people of his day rejoiced. Famine was always just one harvest away.  The joy at a bumper crop was real.  David says that an even deeper joy comes to those who trust in the Lord, who know that He loves them.

God’s people were broken by the destruction of their nation. The Assyrians invaded, carried off the best as slaves, tore down the Temple, and stole the treasures.  Could they ever be joyful again?  Isaiah said yes! "The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." (Isaiah 51:11, NIV)  We bring that promise into our day. Evil steals life. We are enslaved by sin. But, Christ came and paid our ransom. He frees us and we enter the Kingdom.  IF we understand the fullness of that salvation, joy will overflow.

When we engage ourselves in the work of God, looking beyond the scramble to pay the mortgage, keep the house in order; know that life is more than daily duty – we will find joy, too.  Jesus sent out the disciples to preach the good news of His new Kingdom. When they returned to Him, they were excited at the results. As they reported, the Lord Himself experienced something we can know, too. "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." (Luke 10:21, NIV)  Jesus was full of joy because He was doing the Father’s will and taught others how to live it.  Nothing, Christian, makes a person more joyful than radical obedience to the Father.

Here’s my prayer, a word from the Word. "Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! " (Romans 15:13, The Message)

"We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!" (1 John 1:3-4, The Message)

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I Want The Joy

I want the joy of the Lord to come down!

I want the joy of the Lord to fall now!

I want the joy of the Lord in my life.

I want the joy of the Lord to lift me!

I want the joy of the Lord to change me!

I want the joy of the Lord in my life.

It's time I started dancing

Over all these graves.

It's time I gave You, Oh, my Lord,

The highest praise.

It's time to lift my voice,

Oh, and beg for this blessing to fall.

Rita Springer

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