Jesus says “I have told you this, so that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be complete”.
We talked about many things that would typically arise in a topic like this- how joy is different from happy, joy is deeper and independent of circumstance, and that joy is to be found rooted in our relationship with God. Some honest things also came up- like how sometimes we may find such people annoying, and people who exuberates such joy are unreal and “live in a world of their own”.
But the same nagging questions we had were- what does complete joy look like, what is the implication that we do not feel joy all the time, does that mean that we are not remaining in Christ?
Three people come to mind when I think about joy. David- it’s apparent from his psalms, and emotional expressions that he experiences joy from his relationship with God. Jesus- because of the above. And Paul- whose letters never fail to express the joy he has in the Lord and the growing church, and teaches that joy is a fruit of the Spirit.
All three of them, had not easy lives. David had to flee for his life from Saul, mourn for the loss of his son, and grieve that his son wanted to usurp his throne. Jesus was a man of sorrows, who lived to die, and experienced betrayal and denial from his closest friends. Paul always fleeing from persecution, getting flogged and spending time in prisons.
No one in the right mind would say that their lives were filled with joy, but I suspect that if you were to ask them- they would say without a doubt that they had joy.
Why then do we modern city dwellers who had not experienced an inch of what they would call hardship, mourn so easily about the lack of joy in our lives? Would you trade the worst experience of your life with them, ever?
I am convinced that the pursuit of joy is a futile one. If we spend our time wondering if we have joy, measuring our “joy-level” and thinking about ways to have more joy, we might be sorely disappointed. As Paul describes it- it’s a fruit of the Spirit, something that would bear forth from a Spirit-filled life. And the key for Jesus’ joy to be in us, lies in the “this” that He has told them. David found strength in the joy of the Lord, not the other way round.
Neither Paul, Jesus nor David were caught up with desiring joy for their lives. They were all caught up in something else, and someone else. Paul was crazy about the Gospel and building the Church. Jesus was all about loving the Father and His friends. David had passion, deep passion for God. And if you think a moment about your “heart full of joy” experiences- when did they come about? Did they not involve being in love with something or someone?
We all find joy in different things, and we all most certainly express our joy in different ways. But joy, in my humble opinion, is something we find in something else. It is not an end in and of itself, it is a “by-product”. The pursuit must not be about joy- but of something or someone else.
For David, it is to go after God’s heart. For Jesus, it is to do the Father’s will. For Paul, it is to present the church holy and pleasing to God. They were not seeking joy out, they just had it while pursuing the thing they were passionate about. Sure, that journey brought them through many valley-low experiences, but nothing could rob the joy they have in midst of their tears.
Why is it that a Christian today would be hesitant to confess that they were full of joy? My reflection is that- I am disturbed by that question only when I’m feeling disconnected with God, and a lack of purpose in my life or Christianity. During seasons when He has graciously allowed me to have the certainty that His will is being done in my life, I won’t consciously feel joyful. But if you ask me if I have joy then, I think I wont hesitate to say yes.
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