The Joy the endures for ever

The Joy the endures for ever

Luke 10:20

Intro

Joy, or happiness, could be said it’s the one thing most looked for in our culture, and for that matter, throughout all of history. Nobody likes living a place where war takes place, famine, hardship, or difficulty. All of us strive to have a better, more pleasant life. It was Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the USA, and the one who wrote the American Constitution, that wrote the following:”We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

These three rights form the idea of the “American dream”. However, commentators are saying that that dream is more and more difficult to obtain, because even though Americans may have life and liberty, they don’t enjoy their lives as much as they used to.

Today we see how Jesus deals with the disciple’s misplaced source of joy. It is interesting to see that this passage is found in the gospel of Luke, the gospel that is considered the gospel of joy, due to its many references to joy, chairos (in the passage, and the other forms of Joy in the Greek found in this gospel) more than the other 3. Jesus gives the disciples, and us today, a corrective as what it is that we should consider as the source of our joy, a joy that does not change at all, but is assured for us in heaven.

The wrong sources of Joy

Sometimes we read Jesus and we feel that he may be downplaying his disciples. He just sent them to preach, and they bring a good report. All the things that he has commanded to them in the previous verses, they have accomplished. Yet, Jesus dismisses their reason for feeling joyful. Why????

We all have our moments of joy. This morning, most of us have our families with us, and that’s a source of joy. Do you remember how you felt last Christmas, at the table, sharing with your family, that’s a time of joy. Kids, when they are playing their Xbox, PS3, or Wii games, and finished them, they experience joy at having ‘clocked’ the game. When you finally bought your house and moved in, were you full of joy that now you had a home of your own??

If you think about it, all that you have accomplished in life, has been due to the Lord’s grace to you. Even minute things, it is the Lord that has given you the skill, and intelligence, the ability to accomplish this or that task. Just as the disciples were given authority to do miracles, we have been given abilities to accomplish things in our lives from the Lord. But just as the disciples got carried away by the success of their mission, you may also fall victim to that temptation, of measuring your happiness to what YOU have accomplished. This will be condemned by Jesus again in the gospel, cf. The parable of the Rich Fool, cf. Lk. 12:19 and the Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus, cf. Lk 16:19.

What is then, is the source of joy for us Christians??

The rightful source of Joy/Happiness.

It is amazing for me to thing that my mane, Luis Jovel, is written somewhere in a book in heaven. This idea comes from the Old Testament, especially Daniel 12:1. Jesus is telling his disciples, and us today, that our sources of joy, are but temporary. How long will your house stand? How many Christmas will you be able to get your family together for Christmas, or for any other occasion?? Kids, when you finish a game, how long do you have that joy in you? I have finished many games, and done many things that were joyful at that moment, but now, are just memories, and sometimes, I have forgotten them!!!

Jesus is showing us a better way, the real source of joy and happiness. It’s not something that we pursue, as Thomas Jefferson suggested, but something that is given to us by God through Jesus, if only we believe in him!!! As I mentioned last week, not all human beings are children of God, despite of popular culture, but only those who receive him and believe in his name that he gives them the right to become children of God, cf. Jn. 1:12.

Conclusion

Let us therefore, get our right perspective as to the source of our happiness. Our successes and good times will pass away, and will be forgotten, or at best, become good memories. But let your joy’s source be in the knowledge that no matter what happens in your life, you can be assure, that your names are written in heaven, and no matter what happens on earth, be it good or bad, nobody can deny you that joy, ever.

Nehemiah 8:10b Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."