Joy!

When you think of Christianity and your spiritual walk...what is your first response? Gratitude? Well, that is a good place to start...but what about joy? Pure unadulterated joy! Wait, are we supposed to feel that? Or are we suppose to feel grateful and then set out to “earn” our salvation?

Jesus was a Jew, we all know that. But did you know that most Jewish scholars would tell you that the dominate mood of the sabbath should be joy? When you enter the sanctuary on Sunday morning, would delighted be a word that you would use to describe the congregation? How about when you're singing the hymns...now while I realize many of them are not meant to be joyous, what about the ones that are? Do you sing them with a smile on your face? Does your body feel the need to move? Even just a little? How do you think God feels when He sees us “worshiping Him”? What would you think if you were Him? I'm not trying to say we can ever know the mind of God but, He did make us in His image and with that comes the capacity for heavenly joy!

If this description doesn't fit you, don't despair! The Puritans shaped the way many feel about being a follower of Christ, even several hundred years later...and don't get me started on the Protestant work ethic can be misconstrued! While in and of themselves, what they've taught us is not wrong, but it's certainly does NOT encourage a thrilling, enchanting, delightful attitude. How do those outside the church view us...honestly, think of the way many of us look and behave on Sunday morning...would you want to get up and join that?

There is a time and place to work for God's kingdom. There are times and places to be somber in our spirituality. But it is not meant to be ALL the time. Jesus us tells us to come to Him as a little child. Next time you worship or talk to another about Christ, think of your child-self, and worship or talk with enthusiasm, with devotion, with exhilaration, with conviction!

There is no greater way we can Honor God than by showing our delight at being His child!