The Most Joyful People Around

Joy to the World! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!

Recently I read that Christians should be the most joyful people and I tend to agree with that statement. No matter what happens in this life we know what the final outcome will be, and if we’re in Christ we’re on the winning side! Jesus promised that no one who knows Him and calls on Him will be forgotten (read through John 10 as a reminder)— we get to be with Him forever! How awesome is that?! This present life with all the pain and sin and turmoil and chaos will be no more, and in its place we’ll be with Him in perfection for eternity! It’s hard to grasp, but it’s the truth, and it’s His promise to us (Revelation 21 is another great promise!).

And so, in light of this knowledge that we have, we really should be the most joyful people around. Since we know how things will end our attitude and actions should reflect that. We should be known for our encouragement, not our criticizing or complaining that things are broken, because God will make all things new and the things that are broken now will be made right. People should be drawn to us because of our joy and happiness, not want to walk the other way because of our sour attitude. We have Jesus! That fact alone should be enough for us to stop and put things into a proper perspective.

Having a Christ-like attitude doesn’t come naturally — it takes practice — so don’t feel guilty when you fall back into your old fault-finding, complaining ways. Instead, reflect upon who Christ is, what He has accomplished, and your new life in Him. When you do this I know it will be much harder for you to find things to complain about.

To help prepare for this coming Sunday’s gathering, read through Luke 1. Hope to see you this Sunday!

Pastor Mike