God's Desire For Us Is That We Know Joy

 

In the last few posts I have been examining the lives of the people I have known who have shown extraordinary levels of joy.  Each of these people demonstrated lives of commitment, service and sacrifice.  We discussed that joy comes when we commit ourselves fully to Christ and live lives of service for Him and for others.  Commitment and service are the first two stepping stones that lead logically to the third, sacrifice.  If we are committed to Christ and if we are serving Him then almost by definition there will be times when we are called upon to sacrifice.   

Make no mistake, God's desire for us is that we know joy.  Jesus said, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) and  "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:11)  Jesus wants us to have a life filled with abundant joy, a life overflowing with delight and gladness.  But then he also says, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it." (Mark 8:34-35)  Christ promises us joy and almost in the same breath He calls us to self-denial, sacrifice and even death for His sake.  He laid down His life as a sacrifice and He wants us to do the same.  This is a paradox, something that is not exactly clear in our thinking, that we should be able to find joy by sacrificing.  Our instincts work in the exact opposite direction.  We want to make our lives more prosperous and comfortable, not make them more difficult, meager and austere.  The world at large tells us that happiness is found in wealth, in living a comfortable, affluent life.  We should work hard, make money so we can live in a nice home and drive nice cars.  We are entitled to a good life.  But Christ comes along and says, "Leave all that behind and follow me.  Follow me in sacrifice, and you will find endless happiness." 

Our natural mind cannot follow this logic.  How in the world can the pain and loss of sacrifice result in greater joy?  Hebrews 12:2 gives us some insight, "...Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame..."  Jesus sets the ultimate example of sacrifice when he died on the Cross, and the Bible says that He did it for the sake joy.  Jesus, like us, was pursuing His greatest joy, and He realized that the pathway to that joy led straight through the suffering and anguish of the Cross.  Christ knew the end of the story, that He would rise from the grave, and He would be joined together with us for all of eternity.  He could see this blissful end and this led him to sacrifice, so even as He languished in agony, He could smile, seeing the joy that would come to Him in the end.   

The pathway to joy inevitably leads through sacrifice.  We see this clearly in the world of sports.  No athlete has ever stood on a platform and received a medal without making sacrifices.  There is pain and sorrow in leaving friends and loved ones behind in order to train, work, sweat and sometimes bleed.  They push their bodies to the limit, and beyond, embracing the agony because they know a greater award is waiting them.  In their mind's eye they can see the judge hanging the gold medal around their neck, and this fills their heart with joy.  That joy sustains them through the sacrifices.  There is a quote from somewhere, "Pain is temporary, glory is forever."  The glory of victory in sports is certainly not forever, but the glory we find in Christ as we sacrifice for Him certainly is.  As we learn to see with the eyes of faith, we can see that eternal glory and joy awaiting us, and that joy will give us strength to endure any sacrifice.     

While there may be some pain and sorrow in the sacrifices we are called to make for Christ, they are nothing compared to the agony of addiction.  In the addiction I was pursuing my own selfish pleasure, and I sacrificed for it.  The pleasure was intense, but mixed in the pleasure was pain.  That pleasure quickly dissipated and then there was only the pain, an empty shell filled with guilt, shame and remorse.  I willingly laid down my sanity, my walk with God, my work, my relationships, all so I get a little thrill of porn.  Porn addiction is a harsh taskmaster and always demands more and more.  It drove me, dragging me into greater depths of sin and shame.  It rewarded me with brief blasts of euphoria, the opportunity to escape the mundane and the difficulties of life for a brief time, but in the end it left me wallowing in the mud of despair.  I sacrificed time, energy, relationships in order to achieve one release after another, but in the end I was left with only brokenness and emptiness.   

I am at the point now where I am ready and willing to sacrifice anything for Christ.  I would have admitted to this statement at any point in my life, but I was not really willing to make certain sacrifices to get sober.  I was not willing to sacrifice my pride and talk to someone and get help.  I was not willing to sacrifice the pleasure, entertainment and convenience of computers and smartphones so that I could get away from porn.  If God called me to be a missionary to Papua New Guinea I would have packed my bags with a smile, but I would have packed my computers as well.  It is an interesting contradiction in my own character.  I was willing to take these, big, grand gestures for the Lord, but I was not willing to give up these smaller things.  I can see the inconsistency now, but I could not then. 

We have a choice, we can sacrifice in our pursuit of joy in Christ, or we can pursue our own selfish pleasures and end up sacrificing painfully, and potentially eternally, in the end.  There is pain in following Christ, but that pain is a bargain compared to the pain of a life of sin.  We can either enjoy now and pay later, or we can pay now and enjoy later.  It is much like the young lover who wants to buy a ring for his sweetheart.  He works hard and sacrifices, foregoing many pleasures in order to purchase it.  But in the middle of his sacrifice he has joy, because his heart is filled with love.  He sacrifices joyfully thinking of the day when he will put the ring on her finger.  How much more should we be joyfully sacrificing for the Lord, our hearts overflowing with love for Him?

If we hunger to be filled with that unspeakable joy (1 Peter 1:8) then we must be willing to sacrifice, the big things, the small things, all things in order to pursue Christ with all of our hearts.  Christ is a demanding lover, He wants 100% of our hearts and will not be satisfied until He gets it, and when we give it to Him, He floods our hearts with infinite joy.