Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice,
insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings;
that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may
be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached
for he name of Christ, happy are ye; for the
spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you:
on their part He is evil spoken of,
but on your part He is glorified.
1Peter 4:12-14
The world is looking for happiness, a way to make this life to be injoyable, maybe even tolerable as there is much suffering from many and various circumstances. The world looks to be happy and often looks in all the wrong places. The world gets self worth if they feel happy and to do this not only are looking in the wrong places they place their joy upon celebrities, or wild and exuberant concerts, to even use drugs, marijuana use to numb the outside influence that so besets them, even while speaking against smoking and second hand smoke they themselves are smoking and causing second hand smoke, no matter, they find happiness.
What does it mean to be happy? It means to be delighted, pleased, glad as over a particular thing and apt to become felicitous, as actions, utterances, or ideas, to be obsessed by quick to use the item indicated (Webster's Dictionary, 1997, p.591). This is 'played out' in liberal, Charismatic, Pentecostal denominations that teach that this is what a Christian will manifest. In some way they are correct for it is good to be happy, that is, if the happiness has a foundation based on truth and not due to transference.
Joy is associated with happy and has much the same meaning, to be happy, or delighted, to have pleasure, elation, but joy is deeper than happiness, it is derived from a source, that is true joy, to be the cause of keen pleasure, or delight causing a person to rejoice. Example: to read a book that brings joy, not just happiness, but joy, (Webster's Dictionary, 1997, p708)
So the source that brings joy is important and for an Authentic Christian that source is Jesus Christ, God Himself that causes you to not just be happy, but to have joy. Let us worship a God in whom we can rejoice and a question is: does it work, and is it true? Well....does it work? It certainly ought to work. How can anyone be unhappy when you look at the universe that is declared to created by a loving Father of all men, a Father that will not permanently inflict pain, or allow pain upon His children? How can you, or I be remorseful when we have come to know that our sins will necessarily be forgiven? Here is a strange thing: men are still ungrateful. So how do the liberal preachers and teachers attempt to bring happiness to their followers? They eliminated all the unpleasantness they can from the conception of God. To do this they teach such things as speaking in "tongues," that is in some form of gibberish utterances calling that spiritual, or sending people out to "love" on the world, to go about praying for healing with anyone who will listen, and by this they eliminate the truth about man and God. There is nothing more insipid as indiscriminate good humor, or falling over in some ecstasy or over the top euphoric clamor attempting to make a person happy, and call that worship. Is the love of such liberal Christianity teaching about the cost of our faith, a cost that God paid when Jesus died on the cross. God is said to deliver us from sin and the fear of hell, but this is not what is preached or taught, it is to teach that a person can be without sin in this world and to have happiness. Well in some way they can find happiness but they will not find the joy of the Lord.
Here is an objection that causes many not not just believe but even for those within Christianity: If God is such a loving God full of kindness why is the world full of horror. Why all this human suffering? Why all this unpleasantness? All this is real, and God must have something to do with it. What does the Bible teach us? God that many reject as being gloomy is said to be a "consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24), and Jesus spoke of the outer darkness and everlasting fire where sin will not be forgiven, in this age or in the world to come. To overcome this fact the liberal Christian appeals to any idea or theology that will bring to them some comfort as to the idea of God.
This attempt to make you joyful cannot come by just looking on the bright side of God. This is one-sided, a one-sided God, and this is not the real God that can satisfy a person' soul. God is love, but is He only love? God is love, but is love God? Seek joy alone, then, seek joy at any cost, and you will not find it. Most do not seed true joy, they seek happiness, good at some level but that is not the deep joy to be found in God. God showed to us His great love by sending Jesus Christ to die for sin and for Jesus to be our intercessor for eternity. This cost God! But here we find joy, a joy that is indescribable, and that joy is the atoning death of Jesus Christ, that alone presents sinners as righteousness to God. Look upon the truth that we will face trials, unhappiness at times, but we can have joy that deep sense of happiness that you are saved, not for a time, but for eternity. Jesus said: "It is finished" (John 19:30).
Seek joy in Jesus Christ
Richard L. Crumb
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