Joy

6 min read

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
— 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

We have been greatly loved by God. He has chosen us to be saved. And salvation is not only an event or a moment in time when we came to believe the truth of the gospel and declare with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord (Romans 10:9). But our salvation is also the daily, ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to conform us more and more into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ—to conform us into the image of God that has been placed in each and every one of us.

And there are many competing “gospels” coming out of the world. But there is only one gospel that saves because it is the only gospel that comes from our Father in heaven, fulfilled in His Son Jesus Christ, and manifested in us through His Spirit. It is the gospel that is revealed in the apostolic witness found in the Word of God.

And as that gospel takes a hold of our lives, when we embrace that gospel for what it is—existential reality, we begin to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will share in the glory of the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. Not everyone is necessarily called to be a martyr, but every believer will undergo some persecution because of what we believe (2 Timothy 3:12). We will rarely hear that message on a Sunday morning.

But the truth is that we all struggle for whatever it is that we are deeply convicted about. Hopefully, whatever it is that we are deeply convicted about is existential reality.

Because the gospel also promises that we will share in the glory of the joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that glory of joy far surpasses the glory of the cross and the cup of God’s wrath that Jesus suffered for the forgiveness of our sins (Hebrews 12:2). We should try to imagine that joy.

Joy, Joy, unspeakable joy. As we dwell in the house of the Lord, as we abide in the Kingdom of God, we have a taste of that joy even now. When we live as citizens in His kingdom and children in His household, how sweet that joy really is. Yet, there is the hope of an unimaginably greater joy that is made certain by the promise of God.

I apologize in advance for the illustration that I am about to share. Some may find it vulgar, but I hope not. I believe that it is a metaphor that comes from the Word of God (Song of Songs). When husband and wife unite in the intimacy of love, there is a joy that is beyond mere physical pleasure. There is a fusion of souls. Can we imagine that kind of joy in eternity?

Father, Your love knows no bounds. And even though I am unworthy of Your love, thank You for saving me. Thank You for being mindful of me and calling me into Your household. If I suffer, I will praise You with the hope of greater joy. If I rejoice, I will rejoice in You and You alone. In Jesus’s name. Amen.