A Pause to Ponder God's Word
John's Complete Joy
A man can receive
only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said,
'I am not the Christ' but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the
bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for
him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy
is mine, and is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.
(John 3:27-30)
How is it that the wilderness
wondering John the Baptist possesses complete joy? A key word in
John's statement is the word that. That joy refers back to
the analogy he used about the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom
has a specific purpose to accomplish in the wedding. The accomplishment
of that task brings him great joy. So it was with John. He had a purpose,
a task to fulfill. He was to introduce of the Messiah, the Lamb of God.
This he had done when Jesus had come to him to be baptized; Look, the
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (Jn. 1:29). God had
given John a job to do, a purpose to fulfill and there was great joy in
his fulfilling it.
So it is with every Christian.
Each is given a ministry and the gifts to accomplish that ministry. As
we minister according to God's will and purpose we have joy. Joy is a by-product
of faithfulness to God's will and purpose. Jesus, in speaking with his
disciples in the upper room, taught them this same important lesson. He
repeated several times, If you love me, you will obey what I command.
(see chapters 14 & 15). In verse 11 of chapter 15 Jesus tells them,
I
tell you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
There are two ways of understanding Jesus' statement. The first is that
the joy He speaks of is His possession which He imparts to us bringing
our joy to completion. Our loving obedience becomes the means through which
He imparts His joy into our lives.
The second is that our fulfillment
of His will in loving faithfulness brings joy to Jesus (understanding my
joy may be in you as you are my joy). This is like the joy a
parent senses when his child does something well. As we faithfully obey
the Holy Spirit speaks those wondrous words, well done good and faithful
servant to our spirits and our joy is made complete knowing that we
have brought our Savior and Lord joy. Just like the child's joy when he
hears his parent say, "I'm proud of you. You've done a great job."
It just might be that Jesus
had both meanings in mind when He uttered those words. Nevertheless, in
either case it is clear that there is a direct correlation between our
loving faithfulness to God's will and our possessing the joy of the Lord.
It is God's desire that our joy be full and complete. We need only to heed
the lesson and live out His will for us. Then we can join in the chorus
with John; That joy is mine and is now complete!
Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry
A Pause To Ponder God's Word is written and distributed
by Gerald Whetstone, Ordained Elder and teacher in the Church of the Nazarene.
These devotionals may be transmitted, duplicated, used in part or in entirety
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