01/01/2018
Today is the beginning of a brand new year, and as such, let’s contemplate the true source of our joy. Personally, I do not look to the world, but to my Lord Jesus for joy, because the world has failed me often, but My Redeemer, and Savior has never disappointed or abandoned me. The joy of Christ is steadfast, and unfailing... do you see this truth in your walk with Him? Are you prepared to be united with Him this coming year? If you are then you will find that His joy isn’t the only one you will receive.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 15:9-11 ESV
We get the love of God by proxy; it is no more ours than it was the property of Jesus. The love Jesus experienced resided in God, and was presented as a gift to Him. Likewise, the love we feel also resides in God, but passes through Jesus to us when we keep His commandments. Andrew Murray wrote of this when he penned these words...
“Christ was the revelation of the Father on earth. He could be His revelation because the Father loved Him, and He lived in that love. Believers are the revelation of Christ on earth. They can only be this when there is perfect unity.” - Andrew Murray
I love my wife and children, but if I should die, or go away, they would be severed from that love as a result. They may continue to love me, but my love for them is like water running into a sink from a spigot, in that once the spigot has been turned off the sink invariably becomes dry. This is the nature of love... it is continually shared by the one who loves and given as a gift to those who are loved. So In order to continue experiencing the love of God, we must remain worthy of that offering; we must reside in Jesus... we must abide in Him. God sent His Son as the fulfillment of His will, a Holy Gift; His Conduit of Love for us.
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
Whenever I am loved by someone, I feel an amazing happiness and joy. So love is a source of great joy to me. If we extrapolate this concept further, we find that God is Love, which He shares with Jesus, who then allows it to pass through Himself to us... thus we find that the complete and overwhelming joy which God’s love implants in Christ becomes the very same joy we experience in ourselves.
Today we are beginning a new year, and if we hope to be joyous in it we must abide in Christ; obeying His commandments, giving Him our love, receiving His, and also receiving the love of God through Him. In this way our joy is both the joy of Christ, and the joy of God. This sounds pretty wonderful doesn’t it? Well it is! Spend this year loving and being loved, and abide in heavenly joy.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your love that knows no end; thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who makes me worthy, in your eyes, of receiving your love and attention... and who provides me with an uninterrupted source of heavenly joy. Each day of this new year, I pray that I have the faith to abide in Jesus, and that His sacrifice, and your mercy, shower me in the love that I would not deserve save for Your grace. You are my King, and loving God, and your love flows like a raging river as it carries your forgiveness, grace, and the roar of unbounded joy into my very heart and soul. Hear me Father, as I open my mouth and the sound of your gift of undiminished and boundless joy rushes forth again from within as it returns to you in praise; an explosion of joy from deep within me! You are my provider of all good things Merciful Father, especially your love, forgiveness, and joy which are carried upon its crest... thank you Holy Father, and praised be your name always! Let the sound of Your Joy be forever on my lips and flow unceasing from within my heart... the companion of your love for me, and the friend that accompanies the love of your Son Jesus Christ which is coupled with your own.
Rich Forbes