“Turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is gooder than we ever dared hope, and that to believe in that good news, to live out of it and toward it, to be in love with that good news, is of all glad things in this world the gladdest thing of all.”
Frederick Buechner, The Clown in the Belfry: Writings on Faith and Fiction.
Joy. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5). It is our constant call (Philippians 4:4). The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Joy. It is just a small three letter word, but it truly has the power to turn around your life and the lives of those around you. Why? Because true joy is rooted in our deliverance from sin, death, and the devil and anchored to our adoption as daughters and sons of the living God. This “gladdest truth” is so overwhelmingly bright that nothing can diminish its luster when properly contemplated. There is no trial or hardship (Romans 5, James 1) -- no principality or power. Nothing can separate us from the joy of being known and loved by God (Romans 8). Can you pause for a minute right now and bask in this gladdest thing?
Joy this good cannot be contained. Or maybe a better way to say it is that joy this good is meant to be shared. It is OK. Let it out. The joy is the Lord’s and his supply is infinite. I love the line in the Christmas carol “why should we on earth be sad, when our Redeemer has made us glad?” Why, indeed!?
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