Gift 3: Joy

As we continue to go around the wheel of natural flow of the Five Gifts From God, this week we look to Joy. We’ve spent time looking into hope and peace, knowing that one flows right into the other. Having found true peace, we now look at joy and what that truly entails.

If I were to say the words ‘false front’ most people would know exactly what it is that I’m talking about. Having a false front is so much different than a Christian having joy despite circumstances. Given example:

A man from a large, wealthy family in upper New England, because of a business opportunity is ‘promised’ to marry a girl to benefit the families financially. (Whether or not we realize it, this actually happens fairly often.) They marry because it is what their parents want. They do not necessarily ‘love’ each other, rather it is a ‘you’d better marry that person or you’ll be cut off’ sort of deal.

So, they marry, each pursue their respective degrees and become very successful, wealthy socialites. They had two kids, went to church, were the picture of what an American family should look like, and were envied by many. However, 20 years down the road they end up divorcing. Everyone then wonders why. Everyone thinks their life was so perfect, why would they suddenly have problems??

What we didn’t know was what life was like behind the closed doors. Secretly the father was an alcoholic and because the wife was looking for love, had multiple affairs looking for the love she longed for. Their kids each abused drugs and alcohol horribly because of the lack of parenting. However, when they went to the country club, they were what everyone wanted to be like.

That, my friends is a false front. This is not a made-up story, this is the story of a family I knew of when I worked at the country club in St. Louis. It was a tragic story of a family who looked like they had everything together, but in reality, they were just like the ‘average joe’s’ across the country. They looked like they had true joy, but in reality, they had true misery. Unfortunately, many in the world are just like that, even Christians, despite circumstances being slightly different.

Like last week, I chose one single verse because that is the one of main focus, but we are going to read John 17:13-19 because it gives an idea of the larger context around and more about a true joy.

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

What is it about true joy that escapes us? Is it our circumstances? The lack of courage to do the things we want? Do we really FROG? Yes, I said FROG, Fully Rely On God…I learned that from a woman we went to church with in St. Louis. She always wore a little frog pin and one day I asked her what was with the frog pin. She said, you don’t know FROG? I was like, well, I know Kermit the Frog, and I know Jeremiah was a bullfrog, and he was a good friend of mine, but it depends on who you’re talking about! She laughed and goes, no!!! Fully Rely On God. Oh!!! Wow, isn’t that cool! But do we really fully rely on God and not just pay it lip service?

The first thing I want to point out here is that Jesus is praying for his disciples, for us, as we see later in verse 20. We all know that Jesus carries the atoning sacrifice for us on the cross. But what escapes most Christians I’ve found is the fact that Jesus directly intercedes on our behalf to Father God, that is why he sits at the right hand of the Father. For Jews, the right hand is the holy hand, the left is the “unclean” hand. Jesus is to be held as Holy because he is the Holy one who sits on the Holy side of God…this section of verses, exemplifies the fact that Jesus intercedes for us.

He makes our requests to Father God through himself so that we are seen as Holy and Sanctified, worthy in other words, in the eyes of God. That’s such an awesome thought isn’t it? When we pray, we pray in Jesus name…not for show or one of those, ‘because I said so deals’, but because when we pray in Jesus name, Father God recognizes that we hold Jesus as our savior and that we are sanctified because of him. Verse 19 says that he sanctifies himself so that we can be sanctified as well. Doesn’t that just make you joyful to think about? Wow!

So, back to verse 13. We see Jesus praying on behalf of his disciples while he is in the world so that the joy Jesus has, they can have too. But, what does that mean exactly? Let’s keep dissecting.

Jesus points out that he has given us the word of God and yet, the world hates us for it. We may not see it much in our own country, although lately, it is becoming a lot more popular to hate on Christians. But all over the world, Christians are persecuted, hated and killed for their faith. Jesus comfort to us here is that just like Jesus himself, we are not of the world anymore than he is. Our natural place within the scheme of things is a fellowship with God in Heaven, then later on in the New Heaven and New Earth.

Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong somewhere? There was a story once of a little piglet who had been abandoned by his mother. Now, a lady found her and was trying to care for her, but even as a zookeeper, she was not able to get the little piglet to take a bottle. However, there was a mother leopard who had just had cubs and was nursing her young. The zookeeper had a wild idea. She had heard of other mothers taking on another young one who was not of their own. She decided to try. She put a little leopard skin on the piglet and put her into the cage with the leopard and her cubs. Pretty soon, the piglet was nursing and growing beyond her leopard suit would allow. The leopard mother didn’t seem to mind that her “cub” was pig. I saw a picture of the happy family and the pig far outweighed the leopard and her cubs, but she still cared for that pig as if it were her own. Even though the pig didn’t seem to mind, I bet she felt just a little out of place…even like she should have been on the menu.

To an extent, all Christians should feel like they don’t belong here. We should have a need to be with God. This is a good and naturally healthy thing…until you get to the point of actually wanting to accomplish this by your own means. That is when it becomes unhealthy. But a natural sense of ‘I don’t belong here’ is a good thing. This is what Jesus is referring to here. He is stating to the Father not to take us out of the world, but protect us from the evil one who tries to hinder our work here on Earth. Those who are threats to the evil one are constantly attacked because he’s trying to deter us from our chosen path. Again, Jesus states afterwards that we are not of this world, but of the next.

Then, we have the reason that all of this is takes place. Jesus says that for us he sanctifies himself and by sanctifying himself, only then can we truly be sanctified. So what does that mean? Well, literally it means holy, like I was talking about earlier. Our joy, the real, true and only joy comes from being made Holy before the throne of God the Almighty Father, made that way by our savior, Jesus. True joy lies here.

Many times, true joy escapes us for one reason or another. Like the family earlier, they went to church, they were seen as having it all. However, they missed the point while going to church. True joy lies in the Hope of Jesus Christ, which turns into an everlasting Peace, made that way by the Joy that comes from being made Holy and Sanctified in the eyes of God.

Earlier in one of my stories I eluded to the song “Jeremiah was a Bullfrog” by Three Dog Night. It was ironic that this song came up during this story I used from my past. This song talks all about joy…however, not the joy we think of as Christians. Joy according to this song, which by the way is still one of my favorites despite the lyrics, talks about…well, let’s just say it isn’t God. Sing the song to yourself after church, you’ll know why I say that this song is truly the worlds form of joy.

When we are truly joyful, it won’t come from liquor, drugs, fornication, or material possessions, it comes from F.R.O.G…Fully Relying On God…that is why Jesus made us Holy and Sanctified, so we can Fully Rely On God during the times when we don’t think we have the strength to pursue anymore. Ask someone who has survived cancer or an illness. Ask Don Piper, the man who wrote “90 Minutes in Heaven”. He saw Heaven and didn’t want to stay on Earth, yet, he found true joy by Fully Relying On God. Ask the orphans in the Third World countries who only get one meal a day. Ask the battered wife and her children who live at the shelter to get away from an abusive husband and father. They all could tell you that true Joy doesn’t come from a recipe of success, but by the blood, sweat and tears of having to Fully Rely On God.

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