Following Christ for the Sheer Joy of It

When Jesus first entered his public ministry, when he was baptized by his cousin John in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, coming to rest on him, and God the Father spoke from heaven these wonderful words.

“…This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 (ESV)

Our Lord’s identity was firmly established as the beloved Son of God. He did not have to earn this position. It was his by way of his family relationship. He was loved and approved by his heavenly Father. Later, at the mount of transfiguration, Father God added the sentence, “Listen to him.” This confirmed Jesus’s significance: he was someone important who must be heeded. Jesus received these three essential affirmations from his Father: love, approval, and significance. All of us have a deep need to be affirmed in these areas.

Sin cut us off from all of this, sending humanity into a tailspin and a desperate search for what only God can provide. We look for love in the wrong places. We seek approval from those who cannot really give it, and we search for something to give us significance, not realizing that God wants us to have all three by placing our trust and allegiance in Christ. When we do that, we become identified with him and receive all that he is and has, aside from his divinity. God has only one beloved Son, but we can partake of that love by becoming one with him by faith. We cannot earn it or deserve it. We can only receive it as a free gift.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴  Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. ⁵  God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT)

Here are three things for which we can rejoice as individuals and as a church.

I believe God wants us to focus on three things that will help us grow in the joy of serving our Lord. If we cannot serve him joyfully, what kind of message are we sending to those around us? People are not attracted to legalism and misery. They are looking for love, peace, and joy, which are our birthright in Christ.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵  from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, ¹⁶  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height– ¹⁹  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 (NKJV)

Our actions reveal what we believe. If we believe the gospel is the most wonderful news ever, we should tell others about God’s amazing offer. They can become part of God’s loving family, too! The Bible tells us that heaven rejoices when someone puts his or her faith and allegiance in Christ. (Luke 15:7) God wants us to share in that joy by being his representatives. He wants us to joyfully partner with the Holy Spirit to reach those around us with the Gospel . I encourage each person to ask God how to love people into the kingdom of God. Pray. Listen to the Spirit. Be alert to opportunities. Use your gifts and abilities to joyfully serve others. Joyfully share your testimony and the gospel when the Lord opens the door.

I also challenge each person to joyfully embrace new kingdom responsibilities in 2023. Jesus told a parable in which the reward for faithful service was more responsibility. Taking on new kingdom responsibilities, if done with a willing heart and the Holy Spirit’s help, will produce joy.

“ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Matthew 25:21 (NASB)

Home run hitters strike out a lot, but when they do connect, watch out! God encourages us to step up to the plate without fear of striking out. Instead, let’s swing for the fences. Tell God  you are available to do whatever he wants and see what he says and does with you in 2023 .

I have been told never to try to save a drowning person until he has completely worn himself out trying to save himself; otherwise, he might panic and drag you down with him. There are lots of Christians who are hopelessly engaged in an ongoing struggle to be good enough, fruitful enough, and to be doing enough to please God. There is no use trying to help them until they finally wear themselves out. What a revelation when we finally come to understand that Jesus did it all for us!

Legalism is the hopeless quest to measure up in God’s eyes by trying hard. The New Covenant releases us from this pursuit. The Bible tells us that Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Law so that we do not have to. When we place our faith in him, his right standing with God is given to us, making us 100% righteous in God’s eyes, just as if we too have perfectly served God without wavering unto death!

Legalists can never fully experience the joy of the Lord because they cannot find it. Joy is a gift, a fruit that grows on the tree of faith in Christ. Joy comes to those who open their hearts to receive God’s love, peace, and righteousness. Paul wrote the following.

So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. ⁵  When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. ⁶  But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. Romans 7:4-6 (NLT)

Jesus took our condemnation and guilt upon himself so we can experience what it is like to be free from those things! (Romans 8:1, John 5:24) It is only when we stop striving and start relying on the Holy Spirit’s help that we can produce the kind of spiritual “fruit” that we all desire.

The first commandment is to be fruitful and multiply. God designed things so that children are produced through the joy of sexual union. Spiritual fruit is produced by our joyful spiritual union with Christ. Every day when we arise, we begin with an A+ on our spiritual report card because that is our position in Christ. We have nothing to prove to God or other people. All that remains is for us to experience the joy of partnering with the Holy Spirit on what God has planned for us that day. This is the new and living way of the Spirit. If we learn to live this way, people will notice that we have a depth of joy unknown to them. They will want to know more. That will be our opportunity to share with them the amazing good news that Jesus has provided us with all we need to experience righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

Following Christ for the Sheer Joy of It

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