Knowing Christ as the Lord of Joy

If we do not read closely enough in the Bible we are inclined to get a distorted picture of Christ. We have heard so often that He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief' (Isa. 53:3) that we overlook the fact that He must also be seen as a man of joy and acquainted with fellowship.

While He was on earth the contrast between Himself and His surroundings was so great that the suffering, sorrow, and grief seemed to be preeminent. The times when "he groaned within himself' (John 11:33) were numerous, and stand out because they are very visible to all, but the life and nature of Christ must be seen as men see the giant icebergs in the Arctic waters - only one-tenth above surface and nine-tenths in the depths below.

Twice we see the expression of His joy. "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2). "He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied" (Isa. 53:11). Joy and satisfaction! These are two of the marks of the Lord, and they are marks that carry across from earth to heaven and from time to eternity. No line in Scripture indicates any sorrow or grief in heaven. He was the man of sorrows, but He is now the man of joy.

If we look closely, we can see joy even during the time when He was here on earth. Children came to Him easily. Something about Him made it possible for Him to walk into a place where Jews of the lower class were congregating without making them feel uneasy. The Pharisees hated Him for this, and accused Him of associating with harlots and tax-gatherers. The people who felt uneasy in His presence were the hypocritical upper classes with their entrenched privilege and their false claim to religious power and leadership. To them He did not show the side of His joy, but only the face of His caustic judgment.

Today it is possible to know Him in His joy. There is a level of Christian living where, all sin confessed, forgiven, and forsaken, we are vividly aware of His presence, and live with Him in a carefree camaraderie. The familiarity and good will of a fellowship in which we yield ourselves to Him and He yields Himself to us, right in the midst of our most active experiences of living, is the height of Christian experience. He who has given us richly all things to enjoy becomes our joy, and that joy of the Lord is our strength. Thus, living in the resurrection, we know Him as we shall know Him in heaven, a man of joy and acquainted with fellowship.

1. Is joy a feeling?
2. What is the difference between joy and happiness?
3. How do we then take joy and use it as a tool for God’s kingdom?
4. How should unbelievers perceive our joy?