Joy

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, 

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

After 'love' comes 'joy'. 

The fruit of the Spirit in us reveals itself as joy. 

What is joy?

Where does it come from?

What does true joy look like?

The world we live in has adapted the principle of individual happiness. It has almost become a human right for every person to find happiness. But happiness is a fleeting emotion usually attached to some form of commodity. Our happiness is attributed to who we are and what we have. In many ways, this has become a false sense of identity - a shadow we cling on to and allow to dictate our life choices.

As Christians we are called to root our identity in Jesus. (Colossians 3:1-4 | 2 Corinthians 5:17) After all, Jesus is the true vine and he tells us to abide in Him. 

I read an article entitled How Do You Define Joy? by Bill High, in which he writes the following:

Joy is a feeling, yes. But it’s also a confident abiding in the vine, which is Jesus (as laid out in John 15). It’s knowing that all of our life derives from the vine. But it is also the future expectation that everything is going to be okay as we draw life from the vine - no matter the circumstances.

Joy doesn't come from knowing who we are. It comes from knowing whose we are. We've been accepted into God's family, as royal heirs. We live in the promises of God. That should give us reason enough to be filled with joy eternal. 

However, just like with 'love', it simply isn't that easy...

Dampened Joy

Being a parent really teaches you many lessons about fleeting emotions. There are moments where our son is ecstatically joyful, just to be overcome by sadness the next. There's a turmoil of feelings in him, which he doesn't yet know how to process. As we grow up, it appears we become masters of deception. We're all able to hide our true feelings - some better than others. 

A huge aspect of my studies was to rediscover the childlikeness that is lost over time. 

It starts with looking at things we take for granted in a new light. Not in an analytical way, but in a playful way. It's about a position of awe and wonder. 

My son currently just loves buses. He will stand by the window and wait for the bus to pass by. When it drives past, he will point at it in amazement and shout with joy. There's nothing quite like seeing his facial expression. 

Grown-ups will say: "It's just a bus!" 

But our son could stand there all day and every time he will show the same response. 

This, too, will sadly pass. We are continually pushed to find something new to excite us. 

That desire to be 'satisfied' by the world is also what drives us to our habitual, eternal scrolling finger. I am totally guilty of this. I often stop and ask myself: Why am I still scrolling? (after wasting about 15min).

There is always something or someone who will try to convince us that our joy is futile. The enemy attacks us by giving us a warped sense of true joy. 

Happiness is not joy.  

Just look at celebrities who have amassed money and fame. Most of them will be quick to tell you that it hasn't brought them "true happiness". In fact, there are many celebrities who suffer from mental illnesses. In 2020, it isn't a major revelation that materialism is not a factor for a meaningful and happy life. 

The truth is that God doesn't call us to live a happy life. He calls us to live a fruitful life. 

And this takes us back to abiding in the true vine. 

If you are 'plugged' into God and you are in daily communion with Him, then you will be filled with the 'joy of the Lord'. 

Hope as Joy

Paul writes about hope as an anchor for our soul (Hebrews 6:19). Hope is not mentioned as part of the fruit of the Spirit. Perhaps because hope is disguised within 'joy'. If we didn't have our hope in Jesus and the resurrection, then there wouldn't be any joy. 

After Jesus was crucified, the disciples were most likely filled with deep sorrow. Only when Jesus appeared to them did their 'joy' return. This joy moved them to spread the news of the living Jesus across the world.  

Jesus spoke to His disciples about joy. 

In Jesus’ stories about the treasure and the pearl, however, the central emotion of those who’ve acquired the kingdom is joy, not sorrow. The spotlight is upon what is gained and not upon what is lost. - Skye Jethani

When the disciples realised that Jesus was alive, it meant that He was right about everything He had said and claimed. 

As followers of Christ, we have inherited the kingdom and we are co-heirs with Jesus. 

We get to build His kingdom every day. 

Joyful Builders

In Nehemiah, we see how the exiled Israelites return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. It is a beautiful picture for us today, because we are building a new Holy City. The different families in Nehemiah were overjoyed that they could return home and contribute towards restoring the City of David. 

In the same way, we are to be joyful builders. In every aspect of our lives. 

It's not about putting on a goofy smile 24/7 and make our co-workers think we've got a screw loose. However, when others see something in us that isn't as shallow as sporadic happiness, but rather a steadfast assurance in troublesome times, then they might ask us about it. 

Clothing ourselves in joy should be one of our first steps every day. 

In the face of all our daily trials, it is joy that will carry us through. James put it this way: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." (James 1:2)

True joy sets its roots deep inside and produces other fruit, such as perseverance. Perseverance itself is not mentioned as a fruit of the Spirit, but I consider it as a by-product, or even a sub-fruit of the Spirit nonetheless. 

Joy in the Sacrifice

There is a tendency to neglect the sacrificial aspect in some modern Christian circles. When Jesus calls us to build the kingdom, He asks us to do so by being servants. As a servant, the question isn't about what I can gain, but rather what I can give. Jesus gave Himself as a 'living sacrifice' for all mankind to be redeemed. Jesus gained everything (and more), by giving it all.

In Hebrews 12:2, Paul writes: "For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Sacrifice appears to go hand in hand with 'joy'. We're supposed to fix our eyes on Jesus, because it is Him that we are called to model. Sacrifice doesn't always mean having to die for something greater. And yet Jesus does ask us to die to ourselves, to cut our ties to all worldly pursuits, and to rather seek first His kingdom. Every day we must choose 'little deaths', so to speak. Every day, we must choose on which road we're running the race. 

Our pastor pointed out the other day that there's a "Stairway to Heaven", but a "Highway to Hell". The highway might sound more exciting, more easy-going. The stairway...now that sounds like a challenge. The devil has the monopoly on our ever-expanding convenience-culture. The idea of sacrificial living just doesn't fit in with our idea of comfort. After all, the Corona crisis has taught us that you can isolate yourself and get everything delivered to your doorstep. There's a real danger that our Western church culture will become even more consumer-oriented than it already is. 

This will quite easily lead to a pushback towards anything relating to the servant culture that ought to prevail within a church. 

From experience, however, I can say that there are few things that bring as much joy as genuinely serving another person and sharing Christ's love with them through that small act of kindness, whereby you surrender your pride. 

In the end, that is another factor that plays into the idea of 'sacrifice': to lay aside your status. By serving another person, you forfeit your right to being treated as somebody "better". There can never be such a thing as 'class' or 'cast' within Christianity, because we are all called to the same status - that of a loyal servant. As Christians, we are all entitled to the same title. 

That title comes wrapped up in joy, a garment of praise, allowing us to be clothed in joy. We are free and can look forward to life eternal alongside the great joy-giver.