It seems to me that many people who profess to be Christians are sadly lacking in joy. People frequently confuse Christianity with a rather boring lifestyle marked by things we do not do. We often grudgingly perform our expected duties, hoping that our "faithfulness" will be noticed by God and somehow rewarded at some later date. Our sacrifice is expected to win favor with God.
I am an earthly father with four children. They bring me most joy when they are being who they were created to be. It brings me joy to see Justin solve a math problem on which he has worked for days. I deeply enjoy watching Heidi play soccer. When Karisa dances in her graceful manner, my heart sings. This past fall, I watched Sarah immerse herself in a differant culture and enjoy every minute of it; my heart swelled with a good kind of pride. For each of them, these are activities they WANT to do.
My children bring me most joy by being, not because they have kept the rules properly. I don't appreciate them more because they sacrifice their joy in an attempt to please me. In the same way, I believe our heavenly Father is not impressed by our drudgery of sacrifice but rather by our fulness of joy.
I have determined to pursue Jesus and the abundant life He brings. I will not waste my time in this life with things that do not bring life. I will not engage in activities that continually steal my joy. I will not participate in the things the keep my heart from soaring with the Father. I purpose to enjoy life, to relax, to pursue the dreams God has placed in my heart. I will enjoy the journey with Jesus.
I have decided that I will do what I want as long as it does not contradict what God says and as long as it does not stifle the life flow that comes from my oneness with God. If I want to throw a party to celebrate God's goodness, then I will do so. If I want to fast to experience a deeper communion with the Father, then I will do so. However, I will do neither out of a sense of obligation.
As I say so often...Relax! Enjoy yourself!!!
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4 comments:
Glen, Thanks for this blog. Over the past few mos. we have talked and shared alot. The thing that gets me is; "where was the JOY in my life!!!" Not only was I just doing what I thought was right, but it was; (what I thought!!) Not for one min. did I stop and ask "God what is it you are doing?"I wasted so much time chasing after what I thought was right instead of what God placed in me. I want the kind of joy that you just can"t explain.(As you pointed out to me.) Go do what DADDY is doing and enjoy!! Thanks Glen!
I hear a lot of people stressing over whether something is "right". In the garden of Eden, there were two trees - (1) the tree of life and (2) the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I have discovered that when I focus on right versus wrong, I am eating at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (With the same results that Adam had - death). When I choose to pursue life, it seems like things fall into place
Hey Peach,
This all sounds very charismatic to me! What am I missing?
help me out here...what are you saying sounds charismatic??? I'm a little puzzled here. (But then I'm kind of a simple guy!)
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