"Joy is the serious business of heaven."
~ C.S. Lewis
~ C.S. Lewis
"... Thy kingdom come ..."
~ Matthew 6:10
"This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
~ Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
Now when [Jesus] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
~ Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV)
My dear friend Gwen Stewart recently wrote a piece on Heaven to explore what we expect it to be like. (Click the link to see all the responses.)
Whatever else we imagine Heaven to be, we know without a doubt that the business of Heaven is Joy. It is other things such as Peace and Love and the Presence of God. And all those things come down to Joy.
If we have been born again into the God's Kingdom of Heaven ...
If eternal life is not something we wait for but something we have ...
If the kingdom of God is something not searched out but found within ...
... shouldn't we be employed in Heaven's business of Joy?
The Power to manifest Joy resides within the heart where Jesus is enthroned. In yielding to His Joy we have strength.
Lord Jesus, You taught us to pray for Your Father’s kingdom to come. We long for Your kingdom on earth when You return some future hour. Please shine through us so that Your spiritual kingdom is visible in us for this present hour.
[Note: if sorrow clouds your joy, I invite you to stop by Shortybear's Place, the blog of another dear friend. Denise has many afflictions. Her joy shines brighter than perhaps anyone else you'll ever encounter. Her strength in Jesus is abundant.]
Contrasting points of view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
The joy of eternity is something that satiates me on a deeper level. Even when the world wears me down, it's there, still within grasp. A true testimony to the awesomeness of God.
ReplyDeleteYou are a dear heart treasure, I love you.
ReplyDeleteHappiness birthed from external circimstances grows old and changes with the wind. Joy birthed from the Giver of Life residing is internal and eternal not shaken or moved by trivial matters such as external circumstances.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. I plan to re-read it until it takes root.
"... shouldn't we be employed in Heaven's business of Joy?"
ReplyDeleteAmen, Anne. The joy of the Lord is indeed our strength. Even in the midst of trials, His joy can shine through us, equip us and strengthen us. Thank you, Lord!
T. Anne, the awesomeness is that it's more of a yielding than something we've got to work up to. The joy of eternity? I can't think about it for too long or it gets too hard to keep my joy for now.
ReplyDeleteDenise, I love you too, dear.
Julie, after the month you've had, you're in a much better position to affirm the strength from joy. You've been a shining testimony.
Doug, as I read your words it occurs to me that if it's temporal, then on some level, isn't it trivial?
I appreciated Doug's spinoff from Gwen's Heaven post, titled Kylie's Heaven. I hope others are sure to catch this story of his granddaughter.