– Vickie Ripley, Lay Leader and Director of Music & Worship
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, – Galatians 5: 22
Do you notice that this list does not include happiness? Joy and happiness are not the same thing, but many of us think they are.
Generally, joy is considered to be a deep feeling of contentment and is an internal and selfless spiritual connection with God. Happiness is external, on the surface, often fleeting and superficial, related to our human nature.
Jesus says in John 5: 9-11, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 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. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
”It seems that too many people today don’t know the difference between happiness and joy and they are continually seeking happiness, often in all the wrong places, and usually very self interested. Happiness is not having our own way, happiness is not getting attention or elevating ourselves at the expense of others, happiness is not a destination, happiness does not make our lives meaningful.
We are all interconnected, and the actions and behaviors of each one of us will impact someone else. How often do we think about how what we say and what we do will affect others? Being selfless is not easy, but that is what God wants us to do when Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” John 13:34.
As Christians, we are not expected to never experience sadness, or grief, or pain – the Bible tells us of many people who cry out to God in times of trials, but because we have the joy of the Lord, we can experience these times with hope. We know that things of this earth are fleeting and not eternal.
Paul tell us in Romans 8: 38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Our joy is dependent upon this truth.