Join in the Joy
Through the years, I have frequently preached about joy. It is more than an emotion (although it includes emotion); rather, it is a settled attitude, a stable and sturdy approach to life that focuses us on the things that matter now and forever. Joy is much greater and much more powerful than happiness, which is event or circumstance driven. There is nothing wrong with happiness. It is certainly better than unhappiness. Also, we have different personalities. For example, my wife is happy-go-lucky. Of course, she has every reason to be, being married to me. However, not everyone can be married to me. We need something more substantial than happiness; that something is joy. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Because God is the ultimate source of joy, we should desire to be sources of joy in the lives of others. It follows that we should share in the joy of others. Romans 12:15 provides a specific command (really, two commands): “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” Both are equally important, but we are considering only the first. A Christian should never be a joy-killer. Rather, each one of us must be a joy-willer and a joy-filler. First, we must determine that we will exercise our wills in a positive way. When we observe something good happening in another’s life, we must not envy or mope; instead, we should recognize that anything good is a gift from God and should be celebrated as such. Second, we must see that our response of joy fills the cup of joyance to overflowing, for such a response makes the original joy to abound. Enjoy the joy of others, and don’t forget to sip from the saucer.