I begin with a cartoon from “Peanuts.” Linus asks Lucy if she has ever known anyone who was happy. At that moment, Snoopy comes dancing into the picture. Snoopy smacks Lucy on the cheek. As Snoopy dances out of the picture, Linus corrects himself: “And was still in his right mind, I mean…”
Are you in your right mind to be happy? To rejoice? How about if things are going badly for you – can you still be happy? And still be in your right mind? “Joy” is one of the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) – that is, when you walk by the Spirit, joy becomes a natural outgrowth of that life. How? How can we live a life of joy?
I took a look at all the verses in the New Testament that use the verbs “to rejoice” or “to be glad” as well as the verses that use the noun “joy.” The verb “to be happy” is used 74 times in the NT. I was most interested in whether JESUS is said to “rejoice.” So, we’ll look at those two verses. The verb “to be glad” is used 11 times and it is used of Jesus once. The noun “joy” is used 59 times in the NT. The word is used one time of Jesus and He speaks of His own joy.
JOY IN PERSECUTION: MATTHEW 5:12 / LUKE 6:23:
Let us begin in the sermon on the mount: Matthew 5:10-12. Jesus says these are recipients of divine favor (blessed) who are persecuted for doing right. Why?
1.) Because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them – that is, they will see and experience the kingdom of heaven.
2.) Because your reward is in heaven and it is a great reward!
There are several verses in the rest of the NT that relate to this concept but I’ll just have you look at a few… Acts 5:41-42; Colossians 1:24; 1 Peter 1:6-9.
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We have a hard time finding joy and happiness today because we think that joy and happiness are the greatest good, that that is why God created us. But if God had created us to be joyful and happy, He would not have defined “sin” for us. He would have left us to live any way we like, if joy and happiness were the highest good. But they are not. A relationship with God is the highest good. That is the focus of the Bible and that should be the focus of our lives: a strong, enduring relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If we have that, then we have cause for rejoicing.
JESUS EXPRESSES JOY: LUKE 10:21; JOHN 15:11:
This is one of the very few passages that talk about Jesus rejoicing. Here, He rejoices greatly in the Holy Spirit. This is a spiritual joy; a joy that has spiritual matters as the foundation and spiritual matters are the focus and the outcome. Jesus lived a spiritual life.
Pay attention to what Jesus is saying in John 15:8-11. The Father is glorified when we bear fruit; when we put into practice in our daily lives the teachings of the Father and the Son. In that way, we show we are disciples of Christ. When we do that, Christ loves us just as the Father loves us. We need to remain in the love of Christ by remaining in the teachings of Christ, His commandments. Jesus kept the Father’s commandments; we need to also keep the Father’s commandments. Please observe that if we do all of that, Christ’s joy, Christ’s joy may be in us and our joy may be made full!
THE JOY OF JESUS COMPLETE IN US: JOHN 11:15; 17:13:
John 11:14-15. Jesus was glad that Lazarus had died; that he was struck by the weakness of death, so that the power of Christ, the strength of Christ and the miraculous ability of Christ could be visible in that event.
Yes, you and I can lead joyful lives if we live lives differently than the world, not a life focused on being happy… That’s putting the cart before the horse. But lives focused on serving and honoring God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. If our lives are focused in the right direction, then we will have Christ’s joy complete in our own lives. Focus on Christ and happiness will be the end result.
Paul Holland
