Joy Completed

This is a continuation from the post, "What Makes Him Him".

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” John 15:11

I’m still wondering what joy means to me personally. For some reason, I just don’t get JOY. It’s not the same as happiness because joy does not depend on “happenings”. I understand this at an intellectual level. I’ve even experienced joy at the emotional level, usually coming from watching something my kids have done.

But, I’ve been seeking what it means to experience joy at a SPIRITUAL level. I want the joy which comes from the Lord to well up inside me all the time. I don’t think that’s asking too much! Joy from the Lord doesn’t depend on anything but His goodness, and we know that He is always good. Logically this means because I have access to God through the Holy Spirit, I can always experience spiritual joy.

The verses which really cling to me about joy are in John 15 – the “ABIDE” chapter in the King James Version. Jesus is talking with His disciples just before the end. I can see Him almost pleading with them to get the concept of abiding (remaining) IN Christ.

Jesus is describing to them an almost mystical union between God, Jesus, and each of them personally. He says to “remain in me”. I’ve spent years trying to get this analytical brain around this concept. What does remaining IN Jesus look like, feel like, taste like, and how do you do it???

I’ve come to the conclusion, it doesn’t look very different than you would think; pray, read God’s Word, study, learn, serve, give, meditate. The outwardly actions aren’t much different than what most of us know is right. However, what IS different is the heart behind the actions. What motivates the action?

When you aren’t abiding, you see those things as a checklist of what a “good Christian” does. When you are abiding, you understand there are no “good Christians”, only a good God.

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.” Mark 10:18

When you aren’t abiding, you do these things out of habit, duty, the need to feel better about yourself, or the need to look better to others. When you are abiding, you do these things because you can’t face this world without their healing balm and comforting strength.

When you aren’t abiding, doing these things does little more than give you momentary peace, joy, and love. When you are abiding, doing these things only gets you in tune with the presence of God WHO IS peace, joy, and love.

I ask myself daily, is my peace, joy, and love rooted in my own heart, ability, self-discipline, or habits? Or is my peace, joy, and love deeply rooted in the God of peace, joy, and love?

Does my joy come from doing the right things? Or does it come from being in the presence of the Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Being IN Him makes my joy complete.

“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:10-12