I will begin by letting you know that this is a fruit of the Spirit that I, myself struggle with. I mean, I truly do want to be joyful. I want joy to ooze out of all my pores. I’ve encountered people who are full of joy, and they are a wonder to behold. Perhaps you have met such a person before in your lifetime. I am reminded of the story I heard about a man who was admitted to the hospital with a very serious illness. After several days, one of the nurses wrote on his report, “This man suffers from too much joy given the circumstances around his illness.” The world is bewildered by such joy. Oftentimes, so am I.
Jesus once told the story of a woman who lost a single coin in her home. The coin was a drachma, or the equivalent of one day’s wage. She was probably rather poor since she had to light a lamp to try and find the coin–this means the house she lived in had no windows. She swept the floor trying desperately to hear the clink the coin would make when hit. In every nook and cranny she swept and looked until her efforts were rewarded. She found the coin! Now, here is where things get interesting. Here is where things take a head-scratching turn. The woman is so excited; she is filled to the nth degree by happiness. She is so filled with this happiness, she calls all her neighbors to come and celebrate with her. The nuances suggest that she literally throws a party for her neighbors to celebrate her finding this coin, and I guarantee you, the refreshments for that party cost her more than the coin she found. Such was her joy.
Now, you see, I’ve got an awful lot of German blood running through my veins. We Germans are not necessarily known for being demonstrative people. Neither are we necessarily known for being lavish in our expenditures. If I would have been the one who found that coin, yes, I would have been glad. Yes, I might have been a bit excited, but probably I would have been more relieved. I would have stuck that coin in my pocket and gone about my daily affairs. I might have told my wife about it, but there would have been no dancing; no celebrating; no feasting or what have you. I certainly would not have spent the coin to have a party in celebration. The response would have been quite different. Why?
Oh, I have been thinking about that all week! I have been mulling it over and over and over in my brain trying to wrap my head around this problem of joy. And here are a few thoughts that have seemed to have settled.
First, I came to understand the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is a sort of fleeting thing. It is dependent upon our surrounding circumstances. It can come and go in a matter of moments. Watch how it happens.
A pastor had just begun serving his congregation and had only been there a few weeks. After worship one Sunday, an elderly woman approached him and said, “I’m deaf, and I can’t hear a word you say, but I still come to get my plate full.” Hoping to console her, the pastor said, “Well, maybe you haven’t missed much.” She replied, “Yes, that’s what they all tell me.”
As you laugh and smirk, please know that right now, you are experiencing happiness.
Now, did you know that in the next minute 14 people will die of preventable hunger? And suddenly, your happiness is gone.
See how fleeting happiness can be? See how it can be there one second, and then the next, it vanishes? Joy is something different. Joy is something that happens even when our external circumstances change.
A nine year old girl was diagnosed with leukemia, and she was given six months to live. As the doctor told her parents the diagnosis outside the hospital room, she overheard his words. However, she didn’t fully understand her condition. To everyone’s surprise, her faith in Christ gave her an attitude of victory. She talked freely and with hopeful anticipation about her death. As she grew weaker, her joy became more radiant. One day, before going into the final coma, she said to her family, “I am going to be the first to see Jesus! What would you like me to tell him for you?’
That’s joy! That’s something spectacular. That’s something that comes from way down deep within a person–a person who has had their lives touched by the hand of God; a person who has experienced the transformation that the grace of God can bring.
Peter talks about this transformation in his book 1 Peter. In fact, his opening words describe this transformation that leads to joy. “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
Those of you who were here last week know that I started off my sermon series on the fruits of the Spirit by talking about how Scripture compares us to fruit trees–fruit trees that have a rotten core. That rotten core taints everything about us including the fruit that we produce. Peter begins with telling us that we have experienced a new birth. We are made new. We know where this new birth happens. It happens on the cross when Jesus takes our sin upon himself. When Jesus who was spotless and blameless before God becomes sin–He literally takes your sin out of you and takes it into himself so that he can pay the penalty for your sins. And then in a wondrous exchange, Jesus gives you His righteousness; he gives you his blamelessness; He gives you his spotlessness. You who were once tainted and sinful are now clothed with Jesus able to stand before God without condemnation. Your status is changed from someone who deserves God’s judgement to beloved child of God.
And since we are now children of God, we becomes heirs to the promises of God. This means whatever happens to Jesus happens to us, and Peter is quick to point out what that entails as he looks at the resurrection and says, “This is the hope that we all share. It is a living hope that envelops us right here and right now and helps us to understand that God has prepared for us “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” Since Jesus has been raised from the dead, we too will be raised from the dead. Since Jesus’ unjust suffering and pain has been transformed into glory, so our suffering and pain will be transformed into glory. We hold onto and grasp this by faith–we trust that what Jesus said was true. We trust that what Jesus did on the cross was true. We do not put our faith in ourselves or in any action that we can possibly do. Instead, we trust in God and His action.
Peter then follows up with the results of this trust. Peter then follows up and says, “If you trust in Jesus and His work; if you have faith in God and not yourselves, then ‘6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.’” There’s not much I can add to these statements by Peter. He’s pretty straight forward. Even if you are in the midst of suffering, you stand on the promises of God. This suffering is only temporary. There is more to come. Even if you are in the midst of trials, you stand on the promises of God. There is more to come. Even if you are hurting, you stand on the promises of God. There is more to come. There is hope. A radiant hope. A lasting hope. A hope that does not disappoint.
And filled with that hope: filled with the knowledge of what Christ has done; what Christ is doing; and what Christ will do–we begin to have something happen deep within us. We begin to experience something that does not allow us to sink into the depths of depression. Joy prevents us from ever going too low because we know that God is working. Ah, but on the other hand, joy multiplies our happiness. It makes us laugh louder. It makes us sing with reckless abandon. It makes us celebrate with more merriment. It is why the woman in the parable was willing to spend more than what the coin she found was worth. Her joy at finding the coin was worth more than the coin itself, and it demanded to be shared! That joy made her happiness unbearable–she couldn’t keep it to herself. She had to share it!
A little boy listened carefully one Sunday as his teacher explained why Christians give presents to each other on Christmas day. She said, “The gift is an expression of our joy over the birth of Jesus and our friendship for each other.” When Christmas came, the boy brought the teacher a special seashell. The teacher asked, “Where did you ever find such a beautiful shell?” The boy said there was only one spot in a certain bay several miles away where such beautiful shells could be found. His teacher said, “Why, it’s gorgeous! But you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get a gift for me.” The little boy smiled and said, “The long walk was part of the gift.”
Oh, and church, does our joy come forth in such a fashion? Is it overflowing so much that we cannot stand to keep silent? When we think of all that Jesus has done for us in the cross, and when we think of all that Jesus will do for us as we see the proof of the resurrection, are we filled with a indescribable and glorious joy? When we see others hurting; when we ourselves are hurting, do we sense hope? Do we trust that God will turn things around? Are we willing to live in joyful expectation of these things happening? And when we hear things that bring us happiness, does that happiness overflow? Does it erupt? Does it come bursting forth in song; in praise; in merriment; in fellowship and laughter? Oh dear church, I struggle with joy probably because I don’t stay focused on Jesus enough. I don’t keep what Jesus has done and will do for me in my thoughts enough. Perhaps it is one of the reasons I keep bringing them up Sunday after Sunday after Sunday as I preach. Not only is it to proclaim them to you, it is also a reminder to me. For to focus on Jesus and His mighty acts; to focus on Jesus and His glorious promises; changes a heart, and from that changed heart, joy overflows. May we all produce such joy. Amen.
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