Be joyful always (sparked by a bad case of the giggles)
Last night, I was on the phone with my boyfriend, and I got the giggles. Now, you have to understand, this is not an unusual occurrence with me. I’m a laugher by nature. Anything that is even remotely funny, I’ll laugh at. I can even be found laughing my head off when no one is around and nothing really funny is happening. So this was nothing new, but something that I said made me think a little harder than I normally do about my laughter. At one point, I finally caught my breath and spit out the words, “Haha, you just want to hear me laugh!” He responded back with, “Yes, definitely!”
Laughter have huge health benefits for the laughee (okay, yes, here’s where I start to make up words). One of my favorite passages from the Bible is from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” These verses are a driving force in my life, because it’s so simple and outlines God’s will for us in three short commands. It has always struck me that “Be joyful” comes first, before “pray” and “give thanks,” two big commandments to all Christians that are found throughout the Bible. At least Paul, a messenger of God, must have thought that being joyful was very important!
But what does our laughter, or more relevant to this blog, our joy because of God’s forgiveness for our sins, do for the people around us? Let’s look at the story of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15:11-32. This story is intriguing for me because of the obedient older brother, the one who was by his father’s side while his younger brother blew his portion of the family’ estate. He did not want to be joyful because of his personal prejudices over the father’s “unfair” treatment of the brother. But the situation screamed for joyful feelings. The younger brother had come back and asked for forgiveness…that was all that was needed for the father to be overjoyed. In this joy, the son’s return became an example of the joy required for events.
Buy why is the joy surrounding this event required to be so showy? I’m always one to be modest, and so early in my Christian walk, I was bothered by this passage because it was so extravagant. But this show of joy shows the true importance of the redemption of a sinner and God’s forgiveness to the world. What if, when a friend of ours became a Christian, we responded with, “Oh. Okay. That’s cool. What’s for dinner?” How would others, especially non-Christians, who look in on this conversion view the importance of it? They wouldn’t think much of it, that’s for sure, because outwardly, we don’t seem to think much of it.
We know that repenting our sins and receiving Christ’s forgiveness is the most important thing we could ever do in our lives; indeed, it saves our souls. For others to see the importance of Christ in our lives, we must constantly be showing our joy of Christ’s saving grace. The old saying, “Actions speak louder than words,” is definitely applicable here. If we proclaim to be Christians but don’t show how joyful we are because of Christ’s grace, then how will anyone truly know what they are missing?
I’m not saying that we should be happy all the time. That’s physically impossible, because during college, there are definitely stressful times where we are just not happy with how much work we have to do and how little sleep we’re getting. But what I’m trying to get across through the above examples is that, no matter what’s going on in your lives, don’t forget to show the appropriate joy for Christ. You’ll put yourself in a more joyful mood, regardless of the circumstances. But you may also plant a seed in someone’s heart that may lead them closer to a relationship with Christ.
Dear God, thank you for your saving grace. Let the joy we have over this redemption shine like a light for others to see you through. Amen.
Stumble It!
