Ok. Do you remember the old Cheech and Chong routine with Sister Mary Elephant? She is a Catholic school teacher who asks the question “Have you heard the word of the Lord today?” She’s obviously trying to control a classroom of delinquents and ends up screaming at them to shut up. In any event, if you’ve ever heard it, it’s pretty funny.
Have you heard the word of the Lord today? I have. And He wants me to tell you about the joy of Christ.
After lying awake in bed and obsessing over a financial matter (everybody has one) I began to realize I was quite focused on money which has never brought much joy to my life. So I started to ponder the things that have brought me joy and none of them had to do with money.
Imagine the scent of a rose. How can anything compete with that? It can’t be topped. When God created roses He out-did Himself. The sheer joy of taking a whiff, a whiff that goes all the way down to your toes, is like no other experience.
Or take, for instance, a kitten. Many times I’ve experienced with kittens that they immediately purr when you pick them up. Put that little one up to your ear when she’s purring and there is nothing like it. It’s one of the cutest sounds on the face of the earth.
Have you checked out your local sunsets lately? Each one is different and even more spectacular than the one before it. God must be an artist.
What about the taste of honey on your tongue? A perfect food made by a most excellent creature, the honey bee.
Joy can present itself in different ways. For me, it seems to find its way into my being via the five senses. Seeing a calm lake, listening to a songbird in the early morning, knowing that the dessert I just ate came straight from the throne of God, etc.
I am starting a series of articles on how Christ brings joy into the world. It’s an assignment from God so I have to do it. He said “I want you to bring the joy of Christ into the world through your writings.” And when the God of the universe speaks, you listen, obey, and do whatever he says.
Christ brought joy into the world simply by being in it. He taught us how to have a relationship with God and how to treat each other. He was a shining example of everything we should strive to be.
If you haven’t heard the word of the Lord today, you need to. If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you need to. If you’ve never felt Him close to you and the joy that brings, you need to.
He came into this world for you. He was brutally beaten and died for you. And God’s power raised Him up from the dead so that you could spend eternity in his presence. All you need to do is believe in Him.
Feeling joyful?