Wednesday, March 25
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SURPRISED BY JOY
I saw some good news on television recently. A newscaster reported on a 29-year old policeman in Los Angeles who pulled
over a driver for having an expired license plate, only to discover that the man was his father! The two had been separated
shortly after the young man's birth. His father had re-married, had another family, and never located his son. Father and son
were re-united against almost unbelievable odds, and were glad to find each other. (No ticket was issued, just a warning, and an
invitation for dinner.) What a joyful surprise!
We need a lot of things in this world. We need wisdom. We need love.
We need insight. We need commitment. But I think more than anything else, our world might just need an overwhelming dose
of joy. Mother Teresa was asked once what it took to do the work she did, and she simply smiled and said "A willingness to work
hard, and a spirit of joy." Joy. It is not the same as happiness. It is not "circumstantial goosebumps." It is not the absence of
pain or suffering. It is another domain entirely.
When C. S. Lewis became a Christian, he described the experience as
being "surprised by joy." Lewis, one of the most brilliant apologists who ever lived, did not "think" his way to Christ. He fell into a
joy so deep that he recognized it as true. Jesus is the only way to true joy. And His desire, His prayer, for you and me is that His
joy would become our own.
Memory Verse
JOHN 15:11
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made
full.
Read Through The Bible
Judges 20-21; Proverbs 24