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Christianity Living Out of the box Thinking

Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!

As promised, here is my blog on joy.
But before I do that, just a little update for those who are interested. I have arrived safely in New York, and have already experienced memories of why I loved it here and also why I had to move. I’d forgotten how noisy is can be to be surrounded by people, but I’d also forgotten how beautiful the skyline is. I’d forgotten how many homeless people there are all over, but I’d also forgotten the palpable energy that pervades this city. I am so excited at the opportunity to spend this week rediscovering New York. That being said, let’s talk about joy.
This has been a very happy week for me, for obvious reasons. As i said, I am in New York, a couple of days away from playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I get to see my dad, albeit for only a day. I get to spend time back in my hometown. Everything seems perfect. Happiness is easy for me this week.
But we all know how quickly things can change from one day to the next, from one moment to the next. We all know that happiness is fleeting, and tomorrow could bring deep sorrow and pain. We’ve all faced those changes in circumstance at one time or another. And we’ve experienced the reverse as well. Sorrow today, and happiness tomorrow.
Joy, on the other hand, is present despite our circumstances. The Bible tells us to rejoice in all things. We all say, “How is that possible when (insert your trouble here) is going on in my life?” And the reason we ask that is because we confuse happiness with joy.
I’m going to use a story Ray Comfort tells when he talks about how to best approach people with the Gospel. I think it could also be used to distinguish between happiness and joy.
There is a man on an airplane that is told by the flight attendant to put on a parachute. When he asks why, the attendant says it will make the flight more enjoyable. He puts it on, and it’s uncomfortable. People laugh at him for wearing it. The more things go wrong on the flight, the more he blames the parachute until, finally, he takes it off.
Another man on another flight is told by the flight attendant to put on a parachute. When he asks why, the attendant says because, when the plane hits 30,000 feet, he’s going to have to jump out of the plane. He puts it on and it’s uncomfortable. People laugh at him for wearing it. But, here’s the difference. He knows that parachute is his salvation and nothing can convince him to remove it. As a matter of fact, the worse things get on the flight, the more he’ll look forward to jumping out.
As I mentioned, Ray Comfort uses that story to illustrate the difference between telling someone becoming a Christian will make them feel good or telling someone becoming a Christian will save them from hell. But I think it might be a decent contrast between joy and happiness. Happiness comes from events in our lives; births, graduations, weddings, etc. Sometimes a brief happiness can come from things we buy. Sometimes we look to others to make us happy. But events pass, things break and people disappoint. And we are left with unhappiness. Joy, true joy, can only come from knowing that, no matter what happens in our lives, we are wearing that parachute that will save us when the time comes for us to “jump out.” and we all eventually jump out of this “plane of existence” and into the next, where we will land before God’s judgment seat. If we have not accepted Jesus as our savior and Lord, our “parachute”, we will be judged on our own works. And none of us, myself included, has lived a perfect, sinless life. We will not be good enough for heaven.  But if we have accepted Jesus as our savior and Lord, Jesus will cover our sins and we will appear spotless and without sin before God. We will be made good enough for heaven.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the things of this world can only make you happy. Joy only comes in the safety of knowing your eternal soul is in the hands of Jesus.
My happiness may come and go, but my joy is a permanent resident in my life. Are you happy? Or joyful? There’s a world of difference between the two.

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