Abiding Joy

 

 

“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves” (John 17:13).

 

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may abide in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).

 

Jesus is speaking so that we may have the fullness of His joy abiding in us. He is speaking as He is about to be betrayed by one close to Him. He is speaking as the shadow of the Cross envelopes the Upper Room. That Jesus speaks of joy before His impending crucifixion should not surprise us, for we see that Jesus, “For the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2).

 

As we ponder John 15:11 and John 17:13 (see also 16:20 – 22), I hope we recognize, once again, the unity of John chapters 13 – 17; this is a tightly woven tapestry that calls us to stand back and meditate, allowing its patterns to penetrate our hearts and minds and souls, calling us to enter into it and inviting us to allow it to enter into us.

 

Jesus speaks not simply of joy, but of the fullness of joy, a joy that is completed and perfected – God desires no less for us in Christ, He promises no less. Jesus speaks not just of joy, but of His joy abiding in us, living in us, taking up its dwelling in us. In Christ Jesus we have abiding joy. Joy is our Way of Life. We see the theme of abiding throughout the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit abides in us, the Father abides in us, Jesus abides in us, we abide in the Vine, the joy of Jesus abides in us – abiding is a motif of the Upper Room tapestry.

 

Jesus’ promise to us is, “No one will take your joy away from you” (John 16:22).

 

Just as the love of God abides in us, so the joy of God abides in us. I am reminded of Zephaniah 3:17, of God exulting over us with joy, rejoicing over us with shouts of joy. Can we be quiet long enough to hear God singing and shouting? Will we allow Him into our churches with that kind of behavior? Will we know Him in the quietness of His love?

 

The joy of Christ within us is a state of being, just as the love of God within us is a state of being. It is possible to sing and dance and shout and play music, but never really know the joy of Christ, for the joy of Christ is a state of being, for God is joy just as God is love.  It is also possible to know inexpressible joy in the depths of inexpressible quiet, and in the midst of inexpressible sorrow and suffering (see again Hebrews 12:2).

 

We may express the joy of Christ in many ways, offering God’s joy in Christ back to Him in worship, sharing it with others – both quietly and exuberantly – and drawing on it as we pass through fire and flood.

 

Love, peace, hope, faith, joy; these are all elements of our state of being in Jesus Christ, they are all His…they come from Him, they abide in us, we return them to Him, we share them with others as we are Christ’s Presence on the earth.

 

Jesus speaks so that we may have His joy, that we may find joy in His Word. Do we? When we read the Bible, are we encountering Jesus Christ and His joy? Is the joy of Christ abiding in us as His Word abides in us?

 

As you ponder the Upper Room (John 13 – 17), where are you encountering joy?

 

Is it in Jesus washing our feet so that we may wash the feet of others?

 

Is it in loving others as Jesus loves us, laying down our lives for our brothers and sisters?

 

Is it finding that place in Christ that He has prepared for us, as He comes to us from the Father?

 

Is it in the coming of the Holy Spirit to abide in us?

 

Is it as the Father and Son come to make their home in us?

 

Is it abiding in the Vine?

 

Is it in realizing that our Father has given us to Jesus Christ and that we are secure in Jesus?

 

Is it in knowing that Christ sends us just as the Father sent Him?

 

Is it in the knowledge that the Father loves us even as He loves His Firstborn Son, Jesus Christ?

 

Where are we finding joy in the Word of Jesus?

 

How is the joy of Jesus abiding in us as our Way of Life?

 

Please do not misunderstand me, I love music and I love Biblically-grounded lyrics and I love singing soft and I love singing loud, and I love quite music by which to meditate and pray; but the joy of Christ Jesus is a state of being, it can be expressed in action, but it need not be external action since it is an inward Way of Life. In fact, there is a sense in which we can have singing and shouting and dancing that is not seen with the natural eye, for it occurs within our hearts and minds and souls and spirits…it never ceases. Sometimes we may be playing the drums and symbols in our hearts, other times a gentle flute. We may be sitting in a chair in a doctor’s waiting room while playing the tambourine and dancing in our souls…and praying for those around us.

 

Paul writes of “singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). What are we playing in our hearts? What melodies are flowing from our innermost beings? Yes, yes, there may indeed be times when our outward actions rekindle the embers on the hearth of our hearts, but surely this is not to be our way of life, for Jesus is our Way of Life and His joy has become our joy, his joy abides within us.

 

How is the joy of Jesus being completed and perfected within us…today?

 

If I were to knock on your door this evening, would you answer me with a song of joy?