Joy is not just some hyped-up feeling that tickles your innards for a while, and then it’s gone. Joy is a lifestyle, and Christians strive to grow increasingly into that lifestyle, for this is the lifestyle which is ours who have believed the Gospel of the Kingdom. We conclude our readings in The Gospel of the Kingdom with an excerpt from pages 65 and 66:
“The joy that fills our souls must come to expression as joy lived… If we fail to bring our joy to expression we will short-circuit its full effect. Further, by stifling the expression of joy we do not bear witness as we should to the reality of the Kingdom and its impact on our lives. Manifesting our joy is what makes our salvation visible to the watching world and signals them concerning the reality of the hope in which we live.
“The Gospel of the Kingdom brings joy to those who know it. This joy enables them to rise above their circumstances, filling them with delight, assurance, and an overall sense of wellbeing as they enter into the presence of the Lord, worship and give, serve and bear witness, work for justice and righteousness, and all this in spite of how unfavorable or oppressive may be their situation in life. This is true joy, lodged in the unseen realm, which comes to visible manifestation as the followers of Christ, who embrace the Gospel of the Kingdom and know the joy of God and of His Spirit increasingly in every aspect of their lives.
“This joy comes not from a gospel of ‘near Christianity,’ but only from the Gospel of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
For reflection or discussion
1. When was the last time you experienced the joy of the Lord? So much that you had to express it?
2. How would you explain to a friend what it takes to know the joy of the Lord like you do?
At the end of the day, the Gospel of the Kingdom, because it is the Gospel of God and of Jesus Christ, is about joy, about gaining access to a state of being where joy can be unhindered, unimpeded, and unending. That joy is ready for us now. Are you ready for the joy? Have you believed some form of “near Christianity” or does the Gospel of the Kingdom define the new and joyful person you have become in Jesus Christ? Share today’s podcast with a friend and get together to discuss it. Next week we begin our journey through book 2 of this three-book series, Joy to Your World! You can order your coy through The Ailbe Bookstore.
T. M. Moore
