Joy Is Mandatory

Sinners will sin. Does that bother you? We don’t belong to this world.

“Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love. If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” (John 15:9-11 NET)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for Him He endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Think of Him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed in your struggle against sin. (Hebrews 12:1-4 NET)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-25 NET)

Don’t let this ugly world get to you and make you sour, bitter, angry, etc.

On the contrary, it’s all one big adventure. I expect to end up on a cross in one sense or another, so when crap happens, I’m not disappointed. In the meantime, I’m going to thrill at the power Christ has granted me over my fleshly nature.

The old damned me was judgmental and demanding, a real smart-ass. The world was never good enough for me. The new me (the one made by God) is giddy at the high privileges, and always looking for a chance to shout, “Woohoo!” Shrink not from adventure! I’ll grab every gusto against the Enemy. When God grants the victory, I’ll shout for joy. And when something goes wrong, I’ll laugh, call my fleshly self an idiot and try again.

I expect to hit the grave all used up and burned out. What a ride!

Yes, joy is mandatory.