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ReVision

Reason in Witness (3)

Where has the joy infected you?

God and Reason (14)

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15.11

Joy to the world!
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is associated with joy. From the announcement of the angels to the shepherds, through all the healings and good works of His public ministry, to the joy of the disciples on the Emmaus road, the experience of joy features large in the accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry.

All who have come to know Jesus as Christ and Lord have entered the joy of the Christian life. As every believer knows, we have every reason to be joyful in Jesus, and we must be ready to tell others what it is to know true joy, and how they can know joy as well, giving as our reason the joy we have come to know through faith in Jesus Christ.

Like “glory”, “joy” is a term that we often use with only the most meager understanding of what it is. We understand joy to be a pleasant, and therefore, desirable experience. However, many of us find it difficult either to explain joy or to account for it when we know it. Like C. S. Lewis, we are often “surprised by joy,” delighted and lifted to find ourselves in a moment of sheer elation and exuberance, but not knowing quite how we got there, save for the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, many of us have difficulty expressing the joy we are experiencing, with the result that our joy is not as infectious or enticing as it otherwise might be.

Joy under the circumstances
Habakkuk 3.17-19 is a good place to start in trying to get at the true nature of joy. Let’s make two brief observations.

First, note the progression of the passage, how it moves from what is seen to what is unseen. Our immediate experiences and circumstances are not always such as to elicit from us a response of joy. Indeed, we are very often wanting in those conditions of life that others look to for happiness. Nevertheless, Habakkuk was able, by engaging sound reason, to rise above even the most unfavorable circumstances to know rejoicing and joy in the Lord.

Joy is not determined by what we can see in our immediate environment. Instead, joy is a condition that attaches to knowing the Lord and being able to see past or through what is seen to engage what is not seen (Heb. 12.1).  This is part of what gives joy its great appeal: it is not attached to changeable circumstances but to fixed realities and eternal verities in which we participate by grace through faith. And joy is always there, always available to tap into in any situation.

Second, the ability to know joy – in spite of any untoward circumstances or conditions – is dependent on the extent to which one actually knows the Lord and is intimately engaged in a relationship with Him. Habakkuk declared that he would rejoice in the Lord and in His salvation, which he experienced as strength, security, and safety (v. 19). The chords, melodies, keys, and pace of our lives are ever changing, like a Baroque keyboard composition; but the continuo of joy walks like a solid bass line under and through all the vicissitudes of our lives, and makes them all, regardless of their nature, cohere and make sense.

The experience of joy associated with knowing the Lord thus depends on the extent to which we know the experience of His salvation. If salvation is for us only a “by-and-by” experience, something to hope for but not necessarily to know, then we may struggle to experience joy amid the trials that we must endure as we await translation to eternal glory. On the other hand, if salvation is an experience of living in the Kingdom of God, where we know the hope of glory, experienced and expressed, as a daily reality, then our joy will be more constant and full because our relationship with the Lord will be as much for the “here and now” as for the “then and there.”

True joy – a pervasive sense of wellbeing, strength, security, elation, and safety – comes from the Lord. We may know joy in the presence of the Lord and His strength – joy now and joy complete in the days to come. God’s Law and, indeed, all His Word, bring delight and joy for the believer (Ps. 16.11). The Spirit of God, Who dwells in each believer, bears the fruit of joy in us (Gal. 5.22, 23). The joy believers may know in the Kingdom of God comes always from the Lord, and it is available to them through all these various avenues. We deprive ourselves of this joy when we neglect the Word of God, fail to walk in the Spirit or to resort often to the presence of the Lord in prayer. Believers must not look to their circumstances for the joy only God can give.

Expressing joy
When we experience it, joy should come to expression in a variety of ways. That is, joy is not an affection merely to be experienced. For joy to have its full effect, it must be expressed.

Once again, the Scriptures provide numerous suggestions to guide us in expressing the joy we have in the Kingdom of God. We may shout for joy, like a home-town partisan whose favorite player has just scored the winning basket (Pss. 47.1; 66.1). Singing songs of joy is also commended (Ps. 92.4). We may express our joy by giving to or comforting others in the midst of our adversity (2 Cor. 8.1, 2); sharing in the sowing and harvest of the seed of the Kingdom (Ps. 126.5); doing justice (Prov. 21.15); and by increasing in our experience of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 13.44).

When, because of our knowledge of God – the fruit of sound reason – the joy that fills our souls comes to expression as joy lived, then our lives will make sense, our salvation will be visible to the watching world, and we can offer any who may ask sound reasons for how that joy can be theirs as well.

For reflection
1.  What is the difference between happiness and joy?

2.  Why is the Christian able to know joy despite the lack of anything that others might think of as making them happy?

3.  What are the keys to tapping into the “bass line” of joy that undergirds our Christian life?

Next steps – Transformation: How do you experience the joy of the Lord? How does this joy affect you? How would you explain the joy you have in Jesus as Christ and Lord to someone who might ask about it?

T. M. Moore

This is part 2 of a 2-part series on God and Reason. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here.

We invite you to register for the free online course,
One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. This course provides a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in our age in flight from God. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

Help us discover the state of people’s understanding of God’s truth. Watch the brief video explaining our Understanding the Bible Questionnaire (click here). Then download the Questionnaire and begin using it with the people in your Personal Mission Field. Be sure to come back to the website and record the answers you receive. We’ll update you from time to time on what we’re learning.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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