Monday Devotion - 17th August 2020
Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
We are forgetful people. It is just part of our human condition. We don’t like to admit it but we forget all too often. One way we forget is how we quickly get accustomed to the great and wonderful things in our lives.
I live in the country and at the entrance to my house is a huge and majestic oak tree, over 100 years old. It is a helpful marker if I need to give directions to my house. When I stop and look at it, and take in its grandeur, it really is a sight to behold. But I don’t do that. I am too used to it. Sometimes I don’t even notice it. In-fact there are times when I wish it wasn’t there because its branches fall off and block the road.
Like me we all too often become complacent and forget the good things that fill our everyday lives.
This is why we have to be constantly reminded of even the most trivial things. Wash your hands, feed the dog, lock the house etc. We need these constant reminders in our lives, because we forget.
It is one of the many reasons why Christians gather together every Sunday, to be reminded of the good news of the gospel. Unfortunately we become all too comfortable with the narrative and glorious impact of the gospel, that it loses its appeal.
We need to admit it; we need constantly reminded.
I believe this is at the centre of Paul’s thinking as he turns to his next section in his letter to the Philippians. He wants to remind his audience of the undergirding theme of his letter; joy.
It seems a little unusual that Paul starts this new section by saying finally, yet he is only half-way through his letter. He says ‘finally’ once again in chapter 4:8, which is the final ‘finally’. He has finished talking about humility and will now move onto righteousness. However, as he begins this new section he harkens back to his original and penetrating idea.
We want to think about the opening verse, and simply walk through it together. It would be all too tempting to rush over this verse and miss what Paul is reminding the Philippians once again.
‘Finally, my brothers’. This is significant. Paul is telling us exactly who is able to find true joy in their life. He is saying rather categorically that joy is exclusive to the Christian. True, life-giving joy is only ever to be found in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, certainly non-christians may have moments of exhilaration, but they soon fade away.
This makes us think about the difference between happiness and joy. It is important to grasp that these are not the same. To be happy is based on our circumstances. Whether the sun is shining, somewhere does something nice to us or if our team wins. But you know what the problem is with that. It doesn’t last. Happiness is temporal. It comes and goes all too quickly. Whereas joy stands in the opposite corner. Joy is not based on our circumstances. It comes from a personal relationship in Jesus Christ. Authentic joy rises above circumstances. It over-rides pain, suffering and struggles.
This underlines a crucial point. True and authentic joy is not natural for human beings. It is supernatural and it is a gift from God. It is simply not innate for any one of us to rise above the strife of life. We are more likely to wallow in self-pity and recant better days in our minds. But the joy of the Lord divinely enters our lives and lifts our heads and gives us a greater and wider perspective.
Joy is an exclusive privilege for the Christian but it is also an imperative. What we read in verse one is a command.
In the original language, the word Paul uses, which we translate to ‘rejoice’ carries the connotation of continually being joyful. It is not that we are switch joy on and off, but that we are to be habitually joyful. As Christians there is a deep sense that we must be joyful. We should not be joy-kills or dogmatic. But do we bring life wherever we go? Do our circumstances dictate what mood we are in? Or do we focus and rejoice in our salvation?
This leads to our final point, which we have already alluded to, and that is the source of true joy. Paul calls all Christians to rejoice in the Lord. This may seem obvious and somewhat redundant to state. But yet this is the simple thing that we need to be reminded of. Our joy comes from, and is rooted in our Lord. We are not to go and look for it in any other person, place or thing. They will only let you down.
Our joy comes from the one and eternal joy-giver; Jesus Christ. He himself came so that we would be filled with joy (John 15:11). So the obvious question lingers, what makes you joyful?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the source of eternal salvation is the only source of joy. Why would we look anywhere else? Let us be eternally glad for knowing that to be true in our lives.