HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-09-06, Page 17THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018. PAGE 17.
By Charmila Ireland
Melville Presbyterian Church,
Brussels
It’s the look on my now-husband’s
face as I walk down the aisle toward
him. It’s the way my dog dances
around when he sees me put my
running shoes on. Or when you read
Psalm 23 or John 3:16 again for the
100th time and realize anew just
how much God loves us.
It’s when my niece runs to me and
yells “Aunt Charm!” and leaps into
my arms for a hug. It’s holding your
grandchild for the first time. It’s
when a small child sees the perfect
mud puddle for splashing, especially
when they have their nice clothes on.
It’s sheer, exuberant, deep, joy.
It’s happiness.
One of the greatest goals for most
people. Even if you’re the richest,
most famous, most beautiful,
smartest person in the world, what
good is it, if you don’t have joy? If
you’re not happy?
I keep writing both joy and
happiness. There’s a reason I say
them both: I don’t think that they’re
the same thing. Happiness and joy
are somewhat different, albeit
related. The word “happy” is
mentioned about 30 times in the
Bible, while “joy” and its verb form,
“rejoice,” are written more than 200
times, depending on your
translation.
While “happy” is great, the focus
is definitely on joy. Happiness is “a
state of well-being, a pleasurable or
satisfying experience.” It’s
something we feel when good things
happen to us. There is certainly
nothing wrong with happiness.
When we’re complimented, take
the first sip of a perfectly brewed
cup of coffee, hear a child giggle, go
for a walk on a beautiful day, get a
promotion or listen to our favourite
song. That’s happiness.
Happiness is part of our reaction
to the many blessings that God gives
us. Happiness is wonderful. It’s a
gift. But it’s also temporary. It’s an
emotion prompted by good
circumstances. Happiness is, sadly,
fleeting. It’s not possible to hold
onto it forever.
But all is not lost! We can’t forget
joy! “Joy” is “to feel great delight, to
welcome or to be glad.” It’s pretty
similar to happiness. It’s a feeling of
great delight, after all. So what’s the
difference?
Joy is deeper, more lasting. Joy is
an attitude of the heart. It depends on
outlook, attitude and belief.
You can have a deep-down joy,
even when your world is falling
apart. A Christian can keep their joy
in good times and bad because their
delight is in the Lord, not in their
fluctuating circumstances.
Joy is one of the nine fruits of the
Spirit listed in Galatians: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-
control. These are gifts from God,
through the Spirit, if you’re willing
and able to ask for them and
cultivate them.
You might have noticed that joy
was the second fruit of the spirit
named, coming after only love. I
think that’s fair. Nothing comes
before love. But joy comes in
second.
There’s a very interesting passage
in 1 Peter 1:3-9 that talks about
rejoicing and praise. It starts by
saying, “Praise be to the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead and into an inheritance that can
never perish, spoil or fade. This
inheritance is kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by
God’s power until the coming of the
salvation that is ready to be revealed
in the last time. In all this you
greatly rejoice.”
Peter describes our state of being,
right now, as defined by God’s
“great mercy.” His great mercy gives
us a “new birth into a living hope,”
and faith that is “for salvation.” This
new birth leads to two “outcomes,”
in the “now” and also in the “then.”
Now, this new birth leads to
rejoicing “with an indescribable and
glorious joy.”
Then, “the outcome of your faith,”
is “the salvation of your souls”. It is
the promise of the “then”, the future,
the salvation of our souls, that brings
hope and joy into the “now”.
In other words, we can have joy
now, because our faith assures us
that we have salvation in the future.
Most importantly, this hope and joy
is brought into any now, any present,
that is marked by suffering, trials
and testing. We have joy, even if
there is also pain, because of the
promises of the future.
Being Christian does not
guarantee a life without suffering.
Having joy is easy in the easy times.
That’s the time when happiness
alone is usually enough. It’s when
the going gets tough that we can see
how deep down our joy truly is.
After talking about our salvation,
Peter continues, saying, “In all this
you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” He
tells us to greatly rejoice in the same
breath as he tells us that we will have
to suffer grief.
The Lord has promised good to us,
but God hasn’t promised perfect. We
will all experience sorrow, trial and
pain in our lives. Throughout the
entire Bible, God does not hide this.
If Jesus, the Son of God, can feel
such despair and sorrow, surely it is
alright for us to feel it too. Even with
a joy that runs strong and deep
through our lives, there will be times
that we feel crushed by despair.
Life is hard. Christianity does not,
or should not, demand that you put
on a mask of happiness and hide
your pain. The church should be a
place where you can express your
pain and find comfort. God’s arms
are always open and God’s ears are
always listening. God wants to know
about all of your life.
The question then becomes how
we maintain our joy as best we can
when we’re faced with the hardships
of life. Although it’s easier said than
done, instead of focusing on what is
causing our pain, we should try to
fix our eyes on Christ. In the
darkness of grief and hurt it can be
hard to believe in a loving God, to
feel joy, or to praise the Lord. It
takes great strength. But the fruits of
the Spirit, including joy, don’t go
away. They are always there,
because our God is faithful. Take
your troubles to God in prayer, and
your burden will be lightened.
I challenge you this week to show
your deep-down joy. Let it shine. Be
the word of hope for someone else.
Give your troubles over to God and
feel the Spirit’s fruit of joy filling
you up. We can have a deep and
abiding sense of joy in our lives
because we are part of the most
amazing love story ever told. God
loved us so much that God gave
Jesus for us. Because of this, we,
although surely sinners, are
forgiven. We have eternal life.
So, if happiness is caused by
circumstances, you can think about
these amazing gifts God has given
us: forgiveness, love and a beautiful
future. God is giving us the best
presents we could hope for, over and
over again. If you can live your life
in a way that acknowledges those
gifts every single day, you will be
filled with a deep sense of joy.
Blyth United Church
Est. 1875
OFFICE: 519-523-4224
Sunday, September 9
No Worship at Blyth United
Please join us at
Community Church Service
at Thresher’s (9:30 am)
Office Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday
9:30 am - 2:00 pm
Accessible Facebook: Blyth and Brussels United Churches
blythunited@tcc.on.ca
MELVILLE
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Nursery care available
519-887-6687
Fridays 11:30 am - 1:00 pm ~ Soup & More 2
- a free community meal held in Melville’s basement, and
made possible by the Brussels churches working together.
Worship & Sunday School - 9:30 am (*New time)
Coffee & Snacks following the service
We invite you to join our church family in:
You’re Invited To Join Us In Worship
Hwy. 4, Blyth www.blythcrc.ca 519-523-4743
Minister: Pastor Gary van Leeuwen
BLYTH CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
SUNDAYS
Morning Service 10:00 am
Evening Service 7:30 pm
Everyone Welcome!
The Regional Ministry of Hope
BLYTH BRUSSELS
Trinity Anglican Church St. John’s Anglican Church
9:15 am 11:15 am
MINISTRY OFFICE
519-357-4883
COME WORSHIP WITH US!
Rev. JoAnn Todd, Rector
email: revjoann@hurontel.on.ca
The Regional Ministry of Hope
aiCert
yytint
ccnnuunni
rCe
i
nniiaartrtce
aiart
ce
ssmemeiittn
int
n
s
y
s
ma00:01
rouH
Sus ihtm
hCno
niy adnu
epah
rnubAu
le
achnrouh
mco.lepa
y
BRUSSELS
United Church
Join us September 9th at 9:30 a.m.
Worship leadership by pastors
from Huron/Perth
Sunday School starts September 16
Everyone Welcome
Meet us at our Hospitality Booth at
“The Barn” every Friday from 2 to 6 pm
From the Minister’s Study
The concepts of joy and happiness: Ireland
Youre Invited
to come worship
with us
Sunday, September 9
at 10:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
650 Alexander St. (former Brussels Public School)
Sunday School for children
4 to 12 years of age at 9:30 a.m.
Childcare provided for infants and preschoolers
during the sermon.
Coffee & cookies after the morning service.
For additional details please contact Pastor Andrew Versteeg 519.887.8621
Steve Klumpenhower 519.292.0965 Rick Packer 519.527.0173