Jesus’ Joy
When you think of Jesus, what sort of emotion do you picture Him having?
Some think of Jesus as overly soppy and sentimental - here in South Africa some imagine Him as always saying "ag shame" to everybody! To others, He is overly judgy and harsh, calling down condemnation on people left and right. Some emphasise Him as the "man of sorrows", which some songs have expressed beautifully as He agonised in the garden and went to the cross.
But I wonder how many of us see Jesus as a man of immense joy? Perhaps one of my favourite pictures ever is the laughing Jesus, which was drawn by artist Willis Wheatley of the United Church of Canada. Take a look at this picture on the devotional this week - Jesus with His head thrown back in laughter. Wouldn't that have been something to see?
Jesus Full of Joy
Yesterday we spoke of the disciples' joy in Luke 10, and how Jesus told them to be more joyful at the fact that God loves them than at their success in ministry. But look how the passage continues in Luke 10:21: "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."
Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit! When you think of Jesus, remember this verse, won't you? Remember a man full of the joy of the Lord.
There was another time when we see Jesus in a very frustrated mood. He had sent the disciples to do God's work, and when He comes back to them He finds that they weren't able to do what He asked. He says this in frustration, in Luke 9:41: "You unbelieving and perverse generation... how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?"
Joy in Faithful Living
Notice the difference? When the disciples are working in the power of the Spirit and doing God's work, Jesus is filled with joy! But when they are not, He gets frustrated. Not to say He rejects them - certainly not. He continues to work with them and build them up. But it is Jesus' joy to see His people overcoming evil and working with the power of authority He gave them.
In fact later on, just before He died on the cross, Jesus said this to those same disciples: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept 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." (John 15:9-11)
Jesus wants His joy to be in us, and to be complete! So, He is full of joy, and when we abide in Him, that joy is ours for the taking.
Yes Jesus was many things and showed a wide range of emotions, but don't think of Him as some dour, miserable man. He was a joyful man, and with your faith in Him, yours can be a life of deep and abiding joy too.
