Many Comedians are funny because they were brought up in a rather difficult way. Many had alcoholic parents along with physical and emotional abuse. They tell of having to be funny in at an early age in order to compensate for the sadness in their childhood. Just about any Comedian’s life story is sadder than the average person.
As we look at JOY, we know that happiness is the outward demonstration of JOY. Men have pursued JOY in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:
Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."
Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."
Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Peter Sellers – Said, “I don’t know how it is that I am so talented and rich and yet I am incredibly unhappy.” (The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993).
Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."
Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Peter Sellers – Said, “I don’t know how it is that I am so talented and rich and yet I am incredibly unhappy.” (The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993).
Where then is real joy found? -- The answer is simple, in Christ alone.
It is my thought that JOY only comes from complete obedience to the will of God. When we know that we are in the exact center of God’s will for our lives. Joy is an inward feeling of the Spirit of man that knows that he is in a right relationship with his God.
I must admit that I don’t see much JOY in our churches today. We see a lot of entertaining things that wow our parishioners for a while then they seem to want more “frillies” in the service. Still there is no JOY shown. C. S. Lewis said, “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite JOY is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” Do you suppose he is right?
I have two grand-daughters, Jessica and Jennifer, which give me great JOY! I feel the same JOY in Jesus when I take time to stop and contemplate who He is and how He relates to me day after day.
Just a Thought
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