08/31/2023
Has Jesus given you a joy like His, or do you anticipate that you will one day have a heavenly joy like the one that He speaks of? Well, I am going to burst your bubble and then give you a new hope regarding this scriptural joy. Our desire should never be to have a joy like Jesus' because we won't have one like His, but don’t let this news disappoint you… read on, because there is much more to this story.
“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 15:10-11 ESV
I apologize for having done this, but I have toyed with you a bit. You are truly not going to have a joy "LIKE" Jesus... no you are going to have the joy "OF" Jesus. Not similar, not an imitation, not even an exact replica, but the very same joy that fills Jesus Christ will fill you; "my joy may be in you."
How could we not have His joy when we abide within Him? And, what is His joy comprised of?
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
John 15:4 ESV
I read a wonderful observation that Billy Graham made and I will share it with you now...
"It is Jesus, the vine, that produces fruit; and we, the branches, bear the fruit, including the fruit of joy." - Billy Graham
How incredibly revealing is that? The root and the vine nourish and grow the fruit; the branches merely support it. We provide space so that a bountiful harvest of fruit can be produced. We allow for the multiplication of the fruit of God... including Joy! So who's Joy did Jesus contain? Why of course He was filled with the joy OF God.
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”
John 14:20 ESV
So in this way we come to understand that the root of the vine is the source of all joy. This explains God's joy being imparted to Jesus where it becomes the joy of Christ, and that selfsame joy then is instilled in us and becomes our joy. It is the same joy, just as all our gifts are the gifts of God which are manifest in us. No copies, not almost the same, but the selfsame gifts.
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 ESV
Pause and consider this for a moment. How many times have you thought... "If I had the power of God I could overcome this_______." You can fill in the blank with any of those wishes you have had. So once we receive a gift, and it is the same gift that God embodies, then what is holding us back? Is it a lack of faith in the gift itself; or is it our self-doubt, or perhaps a lack of confidence in God’s Word? I would say "Pick one." at one time or the other we are guilty of them all, and I am certain there are other reasons as well!
But we are not given every gift. We only receive those we need in order to do His will, and to provide for the common good. We are meant to do God's will and we are also meant to be of service to Him, and one another.
“To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,”
1 Corinthians 12:7-8 ESV
But, even though we do not receive them all, there are certain gifts that we find are widely available to every believer; gifts such as joy, and peace are among these. We just need to understand this to be truth, and accept them. Yes, our joy is His joy, and our peace is His peace; all we must do is obey the commandments of God, and Jesus, and realize that they abide in us. If we do this then we feel them in their entirety, and see that the joy “OF” Jesus is the selfsame joy that is in God, and us… not a lesser joy that is “LIKE” the joy that flows up from the root, through Jesus, and into us where it becomes the fruit we bear. No my friend, it is the very same joy and peace. Do we believe this, and are we prepared to receive it?
Prayer:
Father I thank you for your joy that flows from you to Jesus and into me. Jesus, I thank you for being the conduit for the gifts of joy, peace, and others which we share. The happiness that I experience on my own can't compare with the joy you bring, and I praise you for this. I praise you for the gift of your joy, and for using it to complete the fruit that once blossomed in the spring of my faith, and now matures on my branch as autumn approaches. Holy Father, nurture the bountiful fruit that hangs from me and never let me cease to bear it for your pleasure and glory. Prune me in the winter Lord that I might be more prolific in the coming season. I pray that you never find me wanting, or find reason to remove me from your vine. Give me a full measure of your joy so that the fruit which grows from me will lack nothing, and please you in every way.
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
Romans 11: 29, 36 ESV
Rich Forbes