SCRIPTURE:

14 “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,”
Luke 1:14

JOY

When I hear this verse all I picture in my head is how much joy a baby brought to a family. Then I immediately wonder if the birth of my children brought me this much joy. To be honest, sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Then I wonder if Mary and Joseph felt the same way. Did they feel thankful for Jesus when he was good and doubtful when he wasn’t? Who knows?

Then I think about whether or not I have brought joy to my own family. Did my birth bring joy to the people around me? I hope it did. Perhaps that’s our calling. How can we be the kind of people who bring joy to others?

Imagine if that was our life goal, to bring joy to others. Imagine living like that. Constantly asking yourself how you can bring joy to others. Thinking of yourself in that way.

Maybe there’s a little bit of savior complex there, but consider this…When I put myself in those shoes I think about how bringing joy to others doesn’t only mean that you will make them laugh, or that you will make them happy solely by being positive and funny. I think it means that you bring joy to others by being like Jesus. Jesus was positive and hopefully funny. But Jesus was a teacher, a rabbi, a philosopher. He was someone who was always teaching and embodying faithfulness (and happiness),in the midst of being praised and being persecuted. You see…. making yourself and others happy doesn’t mean that you have to be Kevin Hart. It means you should be like Jesus.

Humble
Kind
Funny
Vulnerable
Hopeful
Positive
Faithful
Loving….
Happy….

And all the other descriptors that I am missing. What am I missing?

So bring joy to others. Bring joy to yourself. And most importantly know God loves you even when you don’t bring joy to God and others.