"We write this to make our joy complete." - 1 John 1:4
Weeks of preparation, and in one day, well, what happened to "Joy to the World"? Where did it go? Where did all the joy go?
We're not talking about forgiveness of sin and salvation from the power of sin and death. We have such forgiveness and salvation because of what Jesus has done for us, which becomes ours through faith. We are not talking about forgiveness and salvation.
We are talking about joy. The Bible is talking about joy. God is talking about joy.
Where did all the joy go?
Well, it's in our hands.
And in our hearts.
And in our words.
And in our deeds.
Jesus was born to be with us.
He was born to live in us.
So if we don't let him out, if we don't share him with others, then the joy of Jesus is snuffed out within us, like a fire that has no air. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19, God says to snuff out the joy of Jesus is to "quench the Spirit."
In the New International Version of the Holy Bible, there are only seven places that talk about a "joy" that is "complete." And in every single one of them, God says that the joy we have in Jesus and God's life-giving work becomes complete only when it is a reality between two parties. It cannot stay in one and become complete. Joy in Jesus grows as it flows from one to another.
In other words, we sing "Joy to the World" because God wants us to take it the world, to pass it along from one party to another, by
1 - celebrating God's love in worship together (Deuteronomy 16:15),
2 - listening for God together (John 3:29),
3 - telling of Jesus to others (John 15:11),
4 - asking from and praying to God for others (John 16:24),
5 - sharing the love and purpose of Jesus together (Philippians 2:2),
6 - writing of Jesus' love to others (1 John 1:4), and
7 - visiting with others and talking about Jesus (2 John 1:12).
These are the seven Biblical ways that Jesus gets "aired out" so that both the fire of his love can grow in us with others and also our joy together in him becomes complete.
It's only the second day of Christmas. Let's take seriously but also have fun taking Jesus and His "Joy to the World."
"We write this to make our joy complete." - 1 John 1:4
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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