Jesus came to bring joy (said the angels to the shepherds) to all people yet when it comes time to celebrate jesus' birth we see very little of that joy. yeah, people put on their smiles and go out and act like they are joyful when they are at church-because the church would look down on them if they said there was something wrong, or that they didn't have any joy. i wonder why so many who say they are christians seem to have lost their joy or just plain never had any. does it stem from a problem with the teaching about joy? are we thinking of joy as happiness? are we thinking of joy as everything is always going to go my way and i will always get what i want? are we not really leading people into a relationship with jesus that will lead to joy? have the leaders screwed things up and that is the root of the problem?
how can you describe joy? if you have never experienced the joy that jesus can bring how can you tell someone else about it? is it even possible? how can you tell someone else about joy if you, youreslf don't have any? so what is the joy that jesus came to bring to "all people"? it is the joy of being forgiven! you know how it is when you know you have done wrong and are in need of forgiveness-how it can eat at you. you know how guilt can suck the life right out of you. you can have relief from those things in jesus. also, joy is just a generally satisfied feeling you have when you go to bed at night, not necessarily because your day was great, or because you accomplished alot, but because you know that you did the best you could in your circumstances. you know that you have had time to talk to the one who can really fix those problems that you are having. it is knowing that you are here for a purpose that is greater than yourself-that is to follow the living god in all you do. joy is when you stop letting the little things that used to really bother you go. its when all things seem to start to come together. it is when you realize that you have all you need in just yourself and jesus. you don't need someone to make you feel important or special, because jesus is the one who does that. joy allows you to keep your cool when others can't, joy allows you to have a little something to feel good about, that isn't something you can touch. joy starts in your heart-not from anywhere else.
because jesus came we can all have joy. that doesn't mean you will never have another bad day-it just means that you can handle a bad day without totally losing it. jesus can bring joy to any one who will allow him to. the thing is there are people who just seem to bring out the best in us-you know your friend or parent-jesus is that guy too. he just brings out the best in everyone. he is always standing behind us encouraging us along our way. telling us great job today even when no one else bothers. he wants to have a great friendship with us-that is one of the reasons he came. the joy that he brings is hard to describe even once you have experienced it-but i hope that this has shed a little light on the kind of joy that jesus came to bring us. would you share about the joy that jesus has brought you??
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