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.)
We return to Philippians 2:16-18 today. Yesterday, we touched upon the reciprocity of joy and contrasted the light of our joy with the deep darkness of a dying world. In verse 17, Paul uses Old Testament imagery that is quite evocative. He likens himself to a drink offering (the meaning of the Greek translated “offered”) and compares the believers in Philippi to a burnt offering (“the sacrifice and service” has only one article in the Greek, meaning it should be translated as “sacricial service,” pointing to the burnt offering of the Old Testament). Both offerings bespeak absolute consecration, for the drink offering was completely poured out before the Lord, and the burnt offering was totally consumed. Thus, Paul is equating the commitment of the Philippian church to his own. Faithful service to Jesus was challenging, even life-threatening. Crucial to continuance was – and is – joy. Let us recognize the value of our co-workers in Christ, and let us rejoice that no Christian’s labor is in vain (verse 16).