143 Sermon Illustrations on Joy

"For the fulhede of joy is to beholden God in al." - Julian, XXXV

(the fullness of joy is to see God in all things)

The Jesuit priest, Gerald Manley Hopkins (1844-89), knew how to see the fingerprints of His Creator: "The world is charged with the grandeur of God. / It will flame out, like shining from shook foil …" Every where he looked he saw reminders of his God: "Glory be to God for dappled things - / For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; / For rose-moles in all stipple upon trout that swim; / …. / All things counter, original, spare, strange; / Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) / With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; / He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:/ Praise Him." The truth is reflected also in the faces of humanity: "I say more: the just man justices; / Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces; Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is – / Christ – for Christ plays in ten thousand places, / Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his / To the Father through the features of men’s faces."

"Thee God, I come from, to thee go, / All day long I like a fountain flow / From thy hand out, swayed about / Mote-like in thy mighty glow."

Even in the tragic, Hopkins could see God at work. He prefaces his "Wreck of the Deutschland" with "To the happy memory of five Franciscan nuns … drowned between midnight and morning …". In the poem he writes of the tension we have in this seeing of God: "Thou art lightning and love, I found it, winter and warm; / Father and fondler of heart thou hast wrung." Like Julian, Hopkins does not pretend that seeing God in all things will always be easy, in "Justus quidem tu es …" he asks: "Why do sinners’ ways prosper? and why must / Disappointment all I endeavour end? / Wert thou my enemy, O thou my friend / How wouldst thou worst, I wonder, than thou dost / … Mine, O thou lord of life, send my roots rain." In "Carrion Comfort" he cries out like David in Psalm 22: "But ah, but O thou terrible, why wouldst thou rude on me / Thy wring-world right foot rock lay a lionlimb against me?"

And yet, while struggling for a meaning he still sees the Hand, as he says in the "… Deutschland": "is the shipwreck then a harvest, / does tempest carry the grain for thee? …. Death with a sovereignty that heeds but hides, bodes but abides." The poem ends with a sense of triumph – even in the tragedy the King is "Kind, but royally reclaiming his own."

In Chapter 35 Julian speaks of the way in which evil, though never "worthwhile" or encouraged by God, nevertheless has the advantage of showing us our need for God’s mercy and love. She looks forward to a day when "all will have been brought to righteousness." But in the meantime sees God at work not just in the joyous moments (though there are "many, many" of these), but also in those times when we need to cry out for mercy and grace. "The soul that by grace wisely considers both [times of joy and the need for mercy] is well satisfied, and delights in them forever."

Jude and Doc Martin (JaM) de Graaf <>

[see also HolwickID #17061]

*

Happiness comes and goes. I'm looking for something that lasts.

Down in Georgia they have a saying: "If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." It's a reminder that one person's moods affect the entire household, but indirectly it points to a larger problem. The truth is, Mama never can stay completely happy, and neither can Daddy. In short, ain't nobody happy for long.

I know some people who seem to be perpetually cheerful, and others who have learned to take joy in even the small pleasures of life. But that's not the same as being "happy."

Happiness is something most people pursue, and it's a big element in bringing couples together. How many marriages were born in the sincere but naive promise: "I'll make you happy"? Unfortunately, that's a commitment that can't be fully kept, and the attempt can become an impossible burden to bear.

My wife, Leisa, and I never promised to make each other happy. But after ten years of marriage, I found I had somehow assumed responsibility for her happiness. If she woke up in a bad mood, then somehow it must be my fault. If our plans didn't work out, I surely must have contributed to her disappointment. If the furniture we bought turned out to be uncomfortable, if the car we bought turned out to be a lemon, I felt bad that my wife was displeased.

I don't think Leisa was expecting me to make her happy in every way. I was the one with unrealistic expectations. In any case, it all came to a head one day not long after we'd moved to another state and built a beautiful new home. I'd made a difficult job change, taken on considerable debt and put my graduate degree on hold at least in part because I knew she longed to get out of our cramped housing situation and live like "normal" people.

The new job wasn't going well, so you can imagine my reaction when Leisa began to find fault with what I'd thought was her dream come true. The yard was poorly landscaped. The master bath window was too big. The white kitchen floor never looked clean.

I came home from work exhausted one night and asked how decorating was going. When she expressed a mild complaint about a minor flaw of the house, I exploded.

"Can't you EVER be happy?" I said accusingly. She was taken back by my vehemence, and before she could reply, I said, "From now on, I give up trying to make you happy. Never again will I take responsibility for your happiness."

You can imagine the battle royal that followed. It took us a while to sort things out, but in the end I realized something good had come out of the confrontation: I'd set myself free from the bonds of my own unrealistic expectations. I couldn't keep my wife happy. I couldn't even keep myself happy. Happiness was too perishable a substance; it couldn't be kept in the cabinet and dispensed daily like vitamins.

When I gave up on the pursuit of happiness for my spouse, I discovered that something much more satisfying could be cultivated. I mean, of course, the spiritual fruit of joy.

ETERNAL HAPPINESS

Have you ever tried to define happiness? What most of us call happiness is related to contentment, which has the same root as the word "contain." To be content is to possess something we've desired as a good. To be happy, then -- at least for a time -- is to be satisfied because we've obtained something we've desired.

In this sense, happiness is not so much a feeling as a state of being that results from acquisition. No wonder we often describe our wedding day, or the day our first child was born, as "the happiest day of our life." We deeply desired to be joined to that man or woman; we longed to hold a child in our arms. And on that wonderful day, we finally possessed what we had earnestly sought.

But the first major fight between newlyweds takes some of the glow off those wedding bands. Later, that cooing bundle of joy wakes up screaming every hour on the hour through the night. Or worse: A spouse becomes violent; a teenager ends up in prison. Great or small, happiness comes and goes. The summer of our bliss turns into the winter of our discontent.

It makes sense, then, to enjoy the happinesses of life as they come. But, at the same time, it's obvious why the PURSUIT of happiness is the unhappiest of pursuits. Such a state of contentment is at best temporary and fragile, dependent on our changing desires and circumstances. The conditions for happiness aren't always under our control; we can't always have what we want.

Is there, then, no genuine and enduring happiness? Of course; it comes with the possession of that true and ultimate Good -- God himself -- who makes other goods pale by comparison and who can never be lost. The full and eternal happiness of heaven will blossom from our being continually united to God in love while we remain on earth. Happiness comes from possessing God fully and being possessed by him fully. But for now, because our love is imperfect, even our happiness in God is imperfect.

So in the meantime, what can we pursue, if not happiness?

THE LOVE ENCOUNTER

Folks often speak of happiness and joy as if they were the same thing, but that's a mistake. Joy brings us pleasure just as happiness does, but it doesn't depend on acquisition.

We find joy in the sense of delight that comes from being in the presence of someone or something we love. It's based on our ENCOUNTER with something. Happiness possesses; joy appreciates. Happiness grasps; joy beholds.

When Leisa and I vacation at the beach and wake up to view a glorious sunrise over the ocean, the pleasure we feel at the sight isn't happiness. We can't possess the sunrise. We know the streaks of crimson and gold will fade quickly; we don't have the satisfaction of having acquired them for ourselves.

Still, the sunrise gives us joy. Looking out over the waves, we're delighted simply by encountering such beauty. We behold something good, we love it, and we feel an inner sweetness in the presence of what we love. More wonderful still, since we know and love our Creator, we find a deeper sense of joy in admiring the handiwork of Goodness himself.

See, just as the ultimate happiness comes from possessing God, the ultimate joy comes from beholding God. Our joy will be full in heaven, when we will forever behold the face of God (see 1 John 3:2). In the meantime, God is wooing us, drawing us with glimpses of goodness in this world that point us toward him as their Source.

To cultivate joy in marriage, we look for God at work in the one we love. His fingerprints are everywhere: in that wedding ring, scratched, but irremovable; in the wildflowers gathered for the dinner table; in the swelling voice in the shower, off-key but enthusiastic; in the mended clothes, the repaired appliance, the toddler's hurt finger healed with a kiss. When we turn our attention to what's good and precious in our home, when we search out and appreciate the beauty of marital love in its daily, earthy tokens, we gather God's treasure, one jewel at a time.

Even on the unhappiest day we can find a reason for joy.

__________________________

Paul Thigpen is assistant professor of religious studies at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He and Leisa have two children.

Copyright(c) 1997 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./MARRIAGE PARTNERSHIP magazine

Winter 1997, Vol. 14, No. 4, Page 12

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Quotes by Mark Twain

====================

"It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them."

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

"Always do right. This will surprise some people and astonish the rest."

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."

"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with."

"Speaking honestly is better. It takes a lot of stress out of our lives. If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything, but if you don't tell the truth you have to remember what you said."

Joy is that which encompasses and transcends both happiness and sadness. Once endowed with joy, a person is not likely to lose it and in fact it grows with awareness of it. Joy is like the sun, always shining even when night falls or clouds cover it. Happiness is like the moon, waxing and waning. Happiness is a kiss, joy a golden wedding anniversary. Happiness is frequently shared but not always -- joy is always. Happiness is born in the mind, joy in the heart. Happiness comes from humans, joy from God. Happiness is exchanging Christmas gifts -- joy is awareness of what Christmas is all about.

________

F. E. Arn, in "The Living Church"

Where is joy found?

Not in unbelief - Voltaire was an infidel of the most pro- nounced

type. He wrote:

"I wish I had never been born."

Not in money - Jay Gould, the American millionaire had plenty of

money. Yet when on his death bed he said:

"I suppose I am the most miserable devil on earth.

Certainly joy is not found in infidelity to God! Thomas Payne cried

out during his last moments: "O Lord, help me! God, help me! Jesus

Christ, help me! Voltaire said, "I am lost! I am lost! Oh that I had

never been born! Colonel Charterius is reported to have said, "I

would gladly give 30,000 pounds to have it proved to my satisfaction

that there is no such place as hell.

Joy is not found in pleasure. Lord Byron, who revelled in pleasure

all his days, wrote on his last birthday: "My days are in the yellow

leaf. The flowers and fruits of life are gone. The worm, the canker,

and grief are mine alone!" - He was twenty five years old when he

wrote that!

- Knight

An incident occurred in one of our meetings near Boston, that taught me a great lesson in leading souls to Christ. I can never lose sight of it.

A lady connected with one of the city churches, but residing in that place, found she was not the humble, happy Christian she once was. She came to me, asking how she might obtain anew the joy of salvation; she felt she loved Jesus, but so faintly that the warmth and power of that love were gone. The conflict was long and severe. On one occasion, she said to me:

“My husband has become skeptical. He rejects the Bible. It is of no use to speak to him. I have scarcely any hope of his being converted. But, oh, that I could enjoy the Saviour’s love as I used to!”

At length the desire of her heart was granted, and all the joy of her first love to Jesus was restored to her.

And now, though she had been a Christian, and a kind, careful wife and mother, she seemed almost like another person The false representations of religion were ended. Its sweetness and happiness shone in every feature of her face, gave melody to the tones of her voice, and added a new charm to all she did.

She went about the house singing the songs of Zion. Anything that was not sinful, that would make her husband happier and her home pleasanter, she cheerfully performed, saying but little, however, about the change in her feelings; she did not need to, it was so apparent. Her husband saw it, and compared her present state with her past. Somehow this led him to look into his own heart. The conviction was forced upon him that religion was a reality, and one he could not do without.

Some four days after this change in his wife, I called on him, to learn why he rejected the Bible and religion. I asked him to be frank with me, and tell me if he had no desire to be a Christian.

He replied: “Mr. Earle, I have said nothing about it to my wife; but, sir, I feel I am a lost sinner, and if you will pray for me, I will kneel down with you right here.”

And, pointing to his wife, who was at that moment passing through the room, with the tears on her bright face, he continued: “That woman, my own dear wife, has had more power over me for a few days past than everything else put together. She has been a professor of religion for years, but I knew she did not enjoy religion, and I said if that was all there was in religion, I did not want it. But for the last few days she has looked and acted almost like an angel; and, sir, I cannot stand it; there is a power in her sweet, happy face that melts my heart I cannot withstand the attraction of such a religion.”

And all this because the joy of salvation was restored to the heart of that Christian wife! Oh, the power of Christ’s love when it burns and glows in the heart!

And perhaps some pious wife who reads these pages, has gone alone to the table of our Lord for many long years, just because her love to Jesus has been feeble and faint, and consequently her representation of religion unattractive and false.

Some of these parents have not seen their children converted, for no other reason than that they have not had the joy of salvation filling their hearts and running over in their lives; they are Christ’s own redeemed ones, but do not live as becomes his family, every member of which ought to be a wellspring of joy, pouring streams of gladness into every heart within reach.

________

A. B. Earle, from: “Incidents Used ... In His Meetings,” published in 1888

A little boy was offered the opportunity to select a dog for his birthday present. At the pet store, he was shown a number of puppies. From them he picked one whose tail was wagging furiously. When he was asked why he selected that particular dog, the little boy said, "I wanted the one with the happy ending."

If we want to reach out for a life with a happy ending, we have no choice but to accept the living Christ as our Lord and Savior, follow Him daily, and rejoice in the eternal life that awaits us.

It is said that as Benjamin Franklin concluded a stirring

speech on the guarantees of the Constitution, a heckler shouted,

"Aw, them words don't mean nothin' at all. Where's all the

happiness you say it guarantees us?" Franklin smiled and

replied, "My friend, the Constitution only guarantees the

American people the right to pursue happiness; you have to catch

it yourself."

In church last Sunday I noted a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, tearing the hymnbooks apart, or rummaging through his mother's purse. He was just smiling. Suddenly his mother jerked him around, and in a stage whisper that everyone could hear, said, "Stop grinning. You're in church." With that she have him a slap on his hindside, and as the tears rolled down his cheeks she added, "That's better," and returned to her prayers. If you can't grin in church, where can you be happy?

========================================

Another version:

The Church is no Place for Joy

In church the other Sunday I was intent on a small child who was turning around smiling at everyone. He wasn't gurgling, spitting, humming, kicking, tearing the hymnals, or rummaging through his mother's handbag. He was just smiling. Finally, his mother jerked him about and in a stage whisper that could be heard in a little theater Off-Broadway said, “Stop grinning! You're in a church!” With that, she gave him a belt on his hind side and as the tears rolled down his cheeks added, “that's better,” and returned to her prayers. I wanted to grab this child with the tear-stained face close to me and tell him about my God. The happy God. The smiling God, the God who had to have a sense of humor to have created the likes of us.

________

Erma Bombeck

One of those huge graders goes to work on a highway repair job.

when the machine is operating on a busy road, traffic is halted

and the cars lined up in opposite directions are allowed to

proceed alternately. A veteran operator of one of those big

machines decided one day to try to relieve the tension that

inevitably results from such a traffic backup. Consequently on

both the front and rear of his grader a sign now appears,

declaring, "The Road to Happiness is Almost Always Under

Construction."

Today, when I awoke, I suddenly realized that this is the best day of my life, ever!

There were times when I wondered if I would make it to today; but I did! And because I did I'm going to celebrate!

Today, I'm going to celebrate what an unbelievable life I have had so far: the accomplishments, the many blessings, and, yes, even the hardships because they have served to make me stronger.

I will go through this day with my head held high, and a happy heart. I will marvel at God's seemingly simple gifts: the morning dew, the sun, the clouds, the trees, the flowers, the birds. Today, none of these miraculous creations will escape my notice.

Today, I will share my excitement for life with other people. I'll make someone smile. I'll go out of my way to perform an unexpected act of kindness for someone I don't even know. Today, I'll give a sincere compliment to someone who seems down. I'll tell a child how special he is, and I'll tell someone I love just how deeply I care for her and how much she means to me.

Today is the day I quit worrying about what I don't have and start being grateful for all the wonderful things God has already given me. I'll remember that to worry is just a waste of time because my faith in God and his Divine Plan ensures everything will be just fine.

And tonight, before I go to bed, I'll go outside and raise my eyes to the heavens. I will stand in awe at the beauty of the stars and the moon, and I will praise God for these magnificent treasures.

As the day ends and I lay my head down on my pillow, I will thank the Almighty for the best day of my life. And I will sleep the sleep of a contented child, excited with expectation because I know tomorrow is going to be the best day of my life, ever!

___________

By Gregory M. Lousig-Nont, Ph.D. from Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery & Nancy Mitchell, R.N.

[For the sad origin of this song, see HolwickID #28656]

1. There’s within my heart a melody

Jesus whispers sweet and low:

Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,

In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Chorus

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

2. All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

Discord filled my heart with pain;

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

Stirred the slumbering chords again.

3. Feasting on the riches of His grace,

Resting neath His sheltering wing,

Always looking on His smiling face,

That is why I shout and sing.

4. Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,

Trials fall across the way,

Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,

See His footprints all the way.

5. Soon He’s coming back to welcome me

Far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown;

I shall reign with Him on high.

C. S. Lewis in his autobiography, "Surprised By Joy," writes, "Joy is never in our power and pleasure is. I doubt whether anyone who has tasted joy would ever, if both were in his power, exchanged it for all the pleasure in the world."

Listen to filmmaker Woody Allen in a recent interview: "It's hard for me to enjoy anything because I'm aware how transient things are. Yes, there are strategies of surviving.... There are times when you think, 'My God, life is sweet, it's nice,' and thoughts of mortality are in abeyance. You know, watching the Marx Brothers or a Knicks game or listening to great jazz, you get a great feeling of ecstasy.... But then it passes, and the dark reality of life starts to creep back in."

Chilling words. And their effect may be so stark because they resonate keenly in our own lives.

When pleasure has gone, it either leaves behind honor or dishonor, joy or sorrow. To know authentic joy we must go beyond the simple categories of pain and pleasure, to search for what gives meaning to our patterns of life.

For philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, enjoyment was once the highest principle guiding his decisions. However, he later wrote that this pursuit radically failed him. Here's what he said: "In the bottomless ocean of pleasure, I have sounded in vain for a spot to cast anchor. I have felt the almost irresistible power with which one pleasure drags another after it, the kind of adulterated enthusiasm which it is capable of producing, the boredom, the torment which follow."

Interesting conclusions about pleasure, are they not? For both the filmmaker and the philosopher, every pleasure is diminished by the knowledge that it doesn't last and by its inability to satisfy completely.

This brings me to my next principle as we consider a philosophy of pleasure: Pleasure is a means, not an end. Joy is the greater end. Friend, every pleasure that is sought as an end in itself ultimately ceases to satisfy, and that hunger for a joy that rises above everything else persists.

If you were to look carefully at which pleasures bring you joy and which ones diminish it, I believe you would discover that every enduring pleasure is tied somehow to a relationship that also has a moral commitment. Where relationship is immoral pleasure comes unhinged and eventually withers. A person is not a means to pleasure because their honor must be intact; nonetheless, it is in relationships that joy is anchored.

But the relationships of this life are limited as well. The older we get the more it takes to fill the longing of our hearts for joy unspeakable. And only God is big enough for that.

_________________________

Copyright © 2002 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Joy was characteristic of the Christian community so long as it was growing, expanding, and creating healthfully. The time came when the Church had ceased to grow, except externally in wealth, power, and prestige; and these are mere outward adornments, or hampering burdens, very likely. They do not imply growth or creativeness. The time came when dogmatism, tyranny, and ignorance strangled the free intellectual activity of the Church, and worldliness destroyed its moral fruitfulness. Then joy spread her wings and flew away.

The Christian graces care nothing for names and labels; where the Spirit of the Lord is, there they abide, but not in great Churches that have forgotten Him. How little of joy there is in the character of the religious bigot or fanatic, or in the prudent ecclesiastical statesman! A show of cheerfulness they may cultivate, as they often do; but it is like the crackling of thorns under a pot: we cannot mistake it for the joy of the Lord which is the strength of the true Christian.

_____________

William R. Inge, Personal Religion

Rejoice in the Lord always,

and again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord always,

and again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice! Rejoice!

And again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice! Rejoice!

And again I say, rejoice!

*

1. O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,

And found in Thee alone,

The peace, the joy I sought so long,

The bliss till now unknown.

Chorus

Now none but Christ can satisfy,

None other name for me;

There's love, and life, and lasting joy,

Lord Jesus, found in Thee.

2. I sighed for rest and happiness,

I yearned for them, not Thee;

But while I passed my Saviour by,

His love laid hold on me.

3. I tried the broken cisterns, Lord,

But ah! the waters failed!

E'en as I stooped to drink they'd fled,

And mocked me as I wailed.

4. The pleasures lost I sadly mourned,

But never wept for Thee,

Till grace the sightless eyes received,

Thy loveliness to see.

*

1. Rejoice, ye pure in heart,

Rejoice, give thanks and sing;

Your festal banner wave on high,

The cross of Christ your King:

Chorus

Rejoice, Rejoice

Rejoice, give thanks and sing.

2. Bright youth and snow-crowned age,

Strong men and maidens meek,

Raise high your free, exulting song,

God's wondrous praises speak:

3. With voice as full and strong

As ocean's surging praise,

Send forth the hymns our fathers loved,

The psalms of ancient days:

4. Still lift your standard high,

Still march in firm array;

As warriors through the darkness toil

Till dawns the golden day:

[Tune “Marion”]

*

1. Joy to the world! The Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let evr'y heart prepare Him room,

And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n and nature sing.

2. Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy.

3. No more let sin and sorrows grow,

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy.

4. He rules the world with truth and grace,

And makes the nations prove

The glories of

His righteousness

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love.

[Tune “Antioch”]

__________

Though the triumphant words "Joy to the world" exemplify the Christmas feeling, the familiar text is actually a translation based on five verses from Psalm 98 in the Old Testament. Isaac Watts, the English hymnist and cleric, published his Psalms of David, which contains these verses, in 1719. More than a century later, in 1839, American composer and music educator Lowell Mason decided to set them to music, modestly including the phrase "From George Frederick Handel," apparently to honor his idol, the composer of Messiah and many other masterpieces. For nearly 100 years, the world accepted this ascription, until musicologists pointed out that not a single phrase in the music can be said to have come straight from any work of Handel's.

____________

Reader’s Digest Canada web-site - December 19, 2001

We are sitting at lunch when my daughter casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a survey," she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral.

"I know," she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous vacations...."

But that is not what I meant at all. I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without asking "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub. That an urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting and she will think of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of her discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that everyday decisions will no longer be routine. That a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at McDonald's will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in that restroom.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years - not to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish theirs.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of honor. My daughter's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his child. I think she should know that she will fall in love with him again for reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel with women throughout history who have tried to stop war, prejudice and drunk driving. I hope she will understand why I can think rationally about most issues, but become temporarily insane when I discuss the threat of nuclear war to my children's future.

I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog or a cat for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real, it actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I finally say. Then I reach across the table, squeeze my daughter's hand and offer a silent prayer for her, and for me, and for all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this most wonderful of callings. This blessed gift from God ... that of being a Mother.

Author Unknown

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Have you pondered the possibility that God may have made pleasure such that the closer one gets to legitimate pleasure, the closer one gets to the heart of God?

C. S. Lewis gave us this perceptive hint in his book, The Screwtape Letters. We read in the exchange of letters between a senior devil and the junior devil being coached how to befuddle a man considering God. "Keep him from going over to the Enemy," was the senior's charge to the young imp.

Some days later the junior devil gave the grim report that he had lost the man to the other side. "Could you not have seduced him?" roared the senior devil.

"No," came the reply, "because he did two things that took him away from us. First, everyday he took a walk, and also read good books. And the more he did that, the enemy seemed to draw him closer. "Ah that's where you made your mistake," said the senior devil. "You should have had him take a walk for exercise, not for pleasure. You should have had him read a book not for the goodness of it but to quote it to others. You see, by not distracting him from the sheer enjoyment of good things, you brought him closer to the voice of the enemy."

What a thrilling insight from Lewis! We have become so conditioned to a morbid interpretation of the Christian life that we have robbed ourselves of the sheer delight and pleasure that God has made possible for us. The closer we get to legitimate pleasures the closer we are to God. In fact, all legitimate pleasure is a gift from God. Receive it with thanks, dear friend, and draw near to the Author of Joy.

May I offer one more hint as we bring this series on a philosophy of pleasure to a close?

In the biblical teaching we observe that worshipping God culminates and unifies the breadth of our experience. Worship of God is what ultimately binds the various inclinations of the heart and gives them full expression. This is where life and enjoyment converge and from here all affections emerge. That is why the Bible says that our heavenly father seeks that we worship Him in spirit and in truth. As one writer puts it: In my glorifying of God, I find my true happiness. He is the author of joy, and He seeks to share that with you. That is why C. S. Lewis titled his Christian conversion: Surprised by Joy.

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Copyright © 2002 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Knowing + Obeying = Joy

Read: Nehemiah 8:1-12

The people went their way to . . . rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them. --Neh. 8:12

A woman who had been a staunch church member for years was asked, "Tell me, just what do you believe?" She replied, "I believe what my church believes."

"But what does your church believe?" came the question. "My church believes what I believe."

The inquirer then asked, "Since you believe what your church believes, and your church believes what you believe, what do you and your church believe?" She quickly answered, "We both believe the same thing."

The Jews who came back from exile to resettle Jerusalem and Israel likewise knew little about their faith. But when Ezra read from the book of the Law, and the Levites explained the text, the people listened for hours. The Word of God brought a powerful conviction of sin. The Israelites began to weep. But they were told not to shed tears. This was a day for feasting "because they understood the words that were declared to them" (Neh. 8:12).

A vague faith can never fill us with joy. We must clearly hear God's truth so that it can change our hearts. As we gain knowledge of His Word and obey it, we will experience the joy of the Lord (v.10). --HVL

No truth of God stored in the mind

Will ever meet our needs

Until that truth gives birth to faith

And faith gives birth to deeds. --DJD

Obedience is the pathway to joy.

My pastor decided to pull a vacation surprise on his four children. "We're going to Junction City, Kansas," Peter told them. "It's where my dad used to pastor a church, and we can have lots of fun there." Meanwhile he made secret plans to spend one afternoon in Junction City, then drive on to enjoy the glories of Disney World.

Ever trusting, his children bragged to skeptical friends, "We're going to KANSAS for vacation. It's great!" All during the long drive from Denver to Junction City, Peter kept up morale by describing the wonders awaiting them: playgrounds, a swimming pool, an ice cream stand, maybe even a bowling alley.

After touring Granddad's old church, the kids were ready to check into a motel and go swimming when their dad dropped the bombshell. "You know something, it's kind of boring here in Kansas. Why don't we just drive to DISNEY WORLD!" Mom reached in a bag and pulled out four custom-made Mickey Mouse hats.

Peter expected his kids to jump up and down in delight. Instead, they complained: "Ah, who wants to get back in the van?" "What about the swimming pool? You promised!" "I thought we were going to go bowling!"

The great surprise had backfired. For the next few hours Peter sat behind the steering wheel and smoldered as his children expanded on all the advantages of Junction City over Disney World.

Never one to miss a homiletical opportunity, Peter turned this fiasco into a fine sermon illustration, quoting C. S. Lewis: "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea." In a letter to his friend Malcolm, Lewis added that "the hills and valleys of Heaven will be to those you now experience not as a copy is to an original, nor as a substitute to the genuine article, but as the flower to the root, or the diamond to the coal."

Yes, Peter said, our desires are too small. We stamp our feet and insist on a merry-go-round in Junction City when Disney World's Space Mountain lies just down the road.

This year is the one-hundredth anniversary of C. S. Lewis's birth, and among his many accomplishments was restoring heaven to a place of intellectual respectability. Before him, heaven was an embarrassment, a holdover of primitive wish-fulfillment, and Christians who took heaven seriously were accused of a "pie in the sky" mentality. Lewis himself admits to the nagging "fear that I was bribed - that I was lured into Christianity by the hope of everlasting life." Yet he went on to stress the sheer moral necessity of heaven and to paint a wonderfully imaginative portrait of it in THE GREAT DIVORCE.

Historically, every age before the modern assumed an afterlife - a good thing, since much of what we know about ancient civilizations comes from what they stashed in their tombs - disagreeing only on the particulars of how best to prepare. "I am the tadpole of an archangel," wrote Victor Hugo. Nowadays, we get much advice on becoming the best possible tadpoles, but little on how to prepare for metamorphosis.

Philosopher and theologian Dallas Willard tells the story of a woman who refused to talk about life beyond death because, she said, she didn't want her children to be disappointed if it turned out no afterlife existed. As Willard points out, if no afterlife exists, no one will have any consciousness with which to feel disappointment! On the other hand, if there is an afterlife, whoever enters that next life unprepared may experience far more than mere disappointment.

I have a theory that heaven will offer faithful Christians whatever they sacrificed on earth for Jesus' sake. My mountain-climbing friend who intentionally lives in a slum area of Chicago will have Yosemite Valleys all to himself. A missionary doctor in the parched land of Sudan will have her own private rain forest to explore. (Could this be why the New Testament commends poverty while portraying heaven in such sumptuous terms?)

Joy Davidman, wife of C. S. Lewis, came to agree with Saint Paul that if we are wrong about resurrection, "'Then we Christians are of all men the most miserable.' Because then, you see, the only real good would be the good things of this world - which Christians must often give up."

Lewis and Davidman spent only four years together before Joy died of cancer. I have no doubt that Lewis's own views of heaven were both tested and strengthened as he watched his wife's agonizing battle. The longing she had answered in him, he hoped, was but a foretaste of a time when all his longings would be fulfilled. The pain that wracked her body, he fervently believed, was like the pain of childbirth, a last loud announcement of new life aborning. Lewis saw belief in heaven not as wishful thinking, but as thoughtful wishing.

The Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno once tried out his theory of belief in God, but no heaven, on a rather simple-minded peasant. The peasant thought a minute and then replied, "So what is this God for?"

A seasoned pastor encouraged seminary students to maintain their joy in the ministry even in difficult times by exercising the power of choice. Paul chose joy DESPITE HIS CHAINS, critics, and crisis, said John Powers, pastor of First Baptist Norfolk, Virginia.

Preaching from Philippians 1:12-30, he said that Paul chose to look at his chains as an instrument clearing a way for advancing the gospel, starting with the praetorian guards who took turns watching his every move.

"With each new guard came an opportunity for the apostle Paul to share his faith," said Powers, adding that they heard him pray, preach, and dictate letters for two years.

"He had joy in spite of his chains," said Powers. "And because of that, his joy created a confidence in others to speak the word of God with boldness."

Paul also chose joy DESPITE HIS CRITICS, Powers said.

Some Christians in Rome had selfish desires and agendas, which included undermining Paul's ministry and creating problems for him, he noted.

"You cannot hurt a computer's feelings, and you cannot grieve a theological concept, but you can destroy a man." he said. "Paul was destructible, but he was not destroyed ... because he chose joy."

The Southwestern graduate advised current students to avoid pettiness because most of the things that create problems in the ministry are not worth the trouble.

"A lot of joy could occur in ministry if we would learn to leave [alone] a few differences between people," he said.

Paul also chose joy DESPITE BEING IN A CRISIS.

Choosing joy will create a positive attitude, said Powers, joking that an optimist goes fishing with a camera and a frying pan.

However, he warned about Satan, who wants to steal joy from God's servants in four ways -- problems, people, possessions, and pressures.

"Problems and ministry are synonymous," he said, emphasizing that understanding the difference between happiness and joy is paramount.

Joy is different from happiness because the latter depends on "happenings," said Powers. "People have a way of stealing your joy, if you let them. There is one constant in ministry: people are going to be people."

Powers warned against depending on people for joy.

"Also, possessions will steal our joy," he said, "when you focus on stuff, things, [and] what somebody else has you may not have."

Pressure is great from the outside because of lost people "hurling" toward hell, he said, adding that expectations from inside the church and personal struggles within have the potential to "siphon" joy from ministers.

Then Powers warned seminary students and faculty about the seven siphons of spiritual joy. JOY IS LOST WHEN:

-- Christian servants have words without actions;

-- Christian servants become busy without purpose;

-- relationships fail to provide mutual nourishment;

-- Christian servants serve without a Sabbath;

-- spiritual gifts are used without God's power;

-- Christian servants possess great theology without adequate spirituality;

-- Christian servants exercise faith without self-examination and

accountability.

Paul refused to allow joy from his heart to be siphoned, and he chose joy in the midst of the crisis he faced, said Powers.

"This discomfort that he was experiencing could not compare with the ultimate experience that Christ was being exulted in his body," he said, concluding that for Paul, "...to live is Christ and to die is gain."

I will enter His gates

with thanksgiving in my heart,

I will enter His courts

with praise.

I will say, “This is the day

that the Lord has made,

I will rejoice for

He has made me glad.”

He has made me glad,

He has made me glad;

I will rejoice for

He has made me glad.

He has made me glad,

He has made me glad;

I will rejoice for

He has made me glad.

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