|
|
|
Message from Pastor Leo
September 01, 2009
I once heard a comedian jest about the idiomatic misuse of words by English speaking people. With tongue in cheek, he spent about fifteen minutes offering some very witty examples. For instance, he pointed out that we call goods transported on the sea CARgo, but those same goods transported on land are called a SHIPment.
He then asked the rhetoric question "why do we park in DRIVEways"? He had the audience in stitches as he ran through a list of oxymoronic terms and misplaced words. He received an avalanche of laughs and a hearty round of applause as he cleverly pinged upon how we often use words in contrasting context.
We are not exempt from making similar mistakes when it comes to words in the Bible. Sometimes we can inadvertently misuse words without even realizing it. James 1:2 tells us "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations or testings."
The truth is that times of testing are not happy times. We accept them without complaint, because we know that the Lord is working in our lives and only good can come from it. Despite that assurance, the fact remains, we are not happy during times of testing.
Is this verse in James telling us to be happy during our testing? No, it is not. In fact, by encouraging us to be joyful through the testing, the verse actually acknowledges that testing makes us unhappy. The real message is that while we are unhappy due to the circumstances we find ourselves in, we can still have joy.
Happiness is dependent upon the circumstances of our lives. Joy is not. Joy is something we have irrespective of what happens in our life, good or bad. Happiness is something we project when we feel good. Joy comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ.
There are 3 reasons we can have joy!
- We have joy because of our reconciliation with God through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
- We have joy because of all the promises of God in Christ Jesus.
- We have joy because nothing can ever change our new relationship with God. Consequently, our joy is constant and unchanging.
We can be happy and joyful at the same time, but more importantly, when life's circumstances deal us a hard blow, we can be joyful though unhappy.
May the Lord Jesus Christ Be Magnified!
Pastor Leo A. Giovinetti
|
|
